Idea strikes, first thought: 1. launch app; OR 2. grab pen and paper?
The creative today needs mad skills all around. There is no excuse for not knowing Photoshop, Illustrator, PowerPoint, and what ever other vertical app you might need to design for your industry of interest. BUT sometimes I think we are missing the massive importance of hand skills in favor of the computer-aided design.
In the world of work you will frequently be collaborating with teams. And the quickest way to get everyone in a meeting on the same page is to use the white board. (aka hand skills) And I'm not talking drafting or drawing skills, those are more refined and specialized forms of hand skills. I'm talking basic idea sketching, flow chart modeling, and even simple UI (user interface) for an app or a website. If you have pen skills you can often whip out simple design ideas or outline and label complex problems that the team can then begin to solve collectively. If you are dependent on PPT or ILL for your mockups you are SOL if the conference room doesn't have a digital projector.
While tools are dramatic enhancements and extensions of our design skills, you need to know how to wield a dry erase marker and well as a mouse. Visual thinking needs to be taught along side the design and development applications.
Get yourself some white board skills to go along with those app chops.
Here are a few book ideas to get you started.
- Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers
- The Back of the Napkin
- The Accidental Creative
- Architecture: Form, Space, and Order
An example of a user interface for a mobile app I sketched. Necessary screens defined 5. Time from idea to design: 5 minutes. Next step, mock-up screens in tool of your choice.
@jmacofearth (also seen on Google+: jmacofearth)
permalink: http://uber.la/2012/05/white-boarding/
Other posts to help you kick ass in social media:
- Love Money Ambition: Finding Your Sweet Spot and Career
- Truth, Transparency, and Trust: How Do We Establish Our Connection?
- Improving the Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Life and Social Media
- Assimilation: The Google Takeover! How Many Ways Do You Google?
- Positive Forces: Delayed, Deflected, Divorced, Distracted, But Not Deterred
- Hyper-Connected Issues: "How Are We Connected Again?"
- Plussing or Dividing: How Are You Showing Up in the World?
- Dear Graduate – a Toolkit for Learners and Job Hunters
- Expert Not Found – Social Media is About Being a "Student" not a "Guru"
- Twitter 101: Hashtag Discovery & Business: How-To Do Social Media Marketing Research
Most people don't really enjoy being mean; they do it because they can't help it. (from Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement)
Pingback: uber.la – Words vs. Design: What is Content, What Is Information Architecture?
Pingback: uber.la - Facebook Just Hijacked Your Email Address – Here's How to Fix It
Pingback: uber.la - The Quick-Start Guide to Google+
Pingback: uber.la - What'cha Drinkin? Let's Share a Coffee Tomorrow Morning
Pingback: uber.la - Going Global and Going Virtual: Are You Ready for What's Next in Agency Models?
Pingback: uber.la - You Don't Have To Start Learning Google+, But You're Gonna Fall Behind
Pingback: uber.la - Social Media is Only Part of the Online Marketing Mix
Pingback: uber.la - Apple MacBookPros for 2012 – Introducing the PR-Air
Pingback: uber.la - Kids in a Four-Hour Working Session: Collaboration Skill Lessons in Minecraft
Pingback: uber.la - Positive Momentum: How Do You Generate Your Forward Thinking?