Illustrating Events and Steps
Product Design Sketching
Explaining Sequences and Operations
Product design deals with The form The use
The interactions between users and products The user notices changes in the product The user changes the form of the product
We use diagrams to help us to ‘play’ the interactions and to communicate our design intent
Simple Operations
Single-action operations Holding a product Pressing buttons Turning a knob
Including part of human body in a sketch can be very effective
Movement
Longer stroke, with specific target Inserting coins Pulling tabs Flipping a cover
Use arrows to indicate locus and target
Compound Actions
Show path with direction change
Draw the arrow according to the path
The orientation of component should match that of the arrow head to avoid confusion
Steps
A chain of events Usually combined
with an exploded drawing
Number arrows to indicate sequence
Position the components in a simple path
Integrated Sketches
Explain operation and construction at the same time
Position components according to how they open or swing
Use captions and different types of arrows to prevent confusion
Activity
Draw diagrams to illustrate the following events Putting coins into a public telephone Passing Octopus card over an MTR gate Inserting a bank-card into an ATM Pulling out a stylus from PDA
Must include at least a palm Draw on tracing paper, one diagram per A4
sheet Use suitable colour combination to enhance
visual clarity Tune for table-top presentation
Multi-Frame Diagrams
For complicate interactionMore than one componentChange in focusChange in product formFinal presentation
One Action per Frame
One simple action per frameNo change in product orientationEasy to relate
Compound Actions
Compound actions may be usedMust use the same orientation to avoid
confusion
View Angle Inconsistency
Viewer may interpret the two steps as two different objects in one step
Confusing View Angles
Avoid view angles that have few visual cues
Avoid view angles that are not related to normal product use
Misleading Arrows
Avoid arrows with more than one possible interpretation
View angle inconsistency leads to confusion
Instructions w/ hand
Instructions w/ arrow
Activity
Draw how to use the buttons of your camera (1 sketch)
Draw how to remove memory card from your camera (a series of sketches)
Use as few texts as possibleInclude human figures or hands in your
composition