Add sketching to your design workflow

With computerised workflows being the default way of approaching design today, it's easy to underestimate just how useful sketching can be in the design process. Obviously it's a great way to quickly and easily rough out ideas and prototypes, but sketching can be a much more effective and versatile tool than you might realise.

Sketching is a core skill and tool of any designer. It is a quick and cheap way to ideate, develop and iterate on possible design solutions, both alone and with a group. To find out just how effective it can be, come to Generate London on 21 September for a sketching workshop with Eva-Lotta Lamm.

Eva-Lotta is a UX designer and illustrator with over 12 years of experience working on digital products as an in-house designer for Google, Skype, and Yahoo! as well as freelancing and consulting for various agencies and her own clients. She regularly takes sketchnotes at all sorts of talks and conferences and has self-published her notes in several books, and in her workshop, Sketching interfaces, she'll help you add sketching to your range of tools.

Over the course of the day you'll take a closer look at when and how to use sketching in the design process, how to make your sketches communicate more clearly and efficiently, and how to run a collaborative sketching session with a group of people. 

You'll start with basic sketching techniques and build up the pace through a mix of theory, exercises, practice sessions and group critiques; you'll learn how to sketch detailed screen designs, interactions and transitions, how to label and annotate your sketches, and decide on the right level of fidelity for the project you're working on.

The all-day workshop is ideal for designers, developers, product managers or anyone who is involved in creating websites or applications and wants to learn sketching skills. All skill levels are welcome and no previous sketching skills or knowledge are necessary.

And if you can't make the workshop – or would rather attend one of the day's other workshops hosted by Brendan Dawes, Brad Weaver and Micah Godbolt – Eva-Lotta will also be speaking about sketching at the main Generate Conference.

In Kickstart your sketching skills she'll show you some basic techniques to start sketching out your ideas, and share her thoughts on practising and playing to develop your skills. If you think you're rubbish at sketching then it'll be a great way to get into using a pen and paper; with plenty of hands-on practice on how to sketch simple objects, people, faces and emotions.

To find out more about Eva-Lotta's workshop and talk, as well as all the other workshops and sessions on offer over three days at the Royal Institution, head for the Generate London site and book your tickets now!