Drawing for designers: do you need it and where to start

Step 1

Work out what kind of drawing you need

“Designer” is too broad a word, and drawing requirements vary a lot:

• •UI/UX design: the key skill is sketching, roughing out a screen, flow or diagram to discuss an idea. Fine-art drawing isn't required;
• •graphic design: you'll need a feel for form, composition and color; drawing helps, especially for logos and brand identity;
• •illustration: here drawing is the core skill, and regular drawing practice is a must.

💡 If you're heading into interfaces, “I can't draw” is no reason to delay. How to get started in UI/UX is in How to become a UI/UX designer from scratch.

Step 2

Learn a simple sketching vocabulary

Nielsen Norman Group writes that even people with limited drawing abilities can learn to sketch wireframes once they learn a few common conventions. Then you think about the idea rather than how to draw it. The basic set:

• •a rectangle: a screen, block, card or navigation;
• •a rectangle with a cross: an image or photo;
• •thin horizontal lines: body text; thicker lines are headings;
• •a rectangle with a line or arrow: a button that takes the user somewhere; add a label for the main call to action;
• •a square or circle with a line next to it: a checkbox or radio button with its label.

💡 NN/g recommends constraints that stop you fussing over details: a thick marker, a timer and a small sheet. A fine pen tempts you to draw every detail.

Step 3

Sketch options, not a single idea

The most useful thing sketching does for a designer is let you run through many solutions before drawing one properly. Try Crazy 8's from Google's Design Sprint method: fold a sheet into eight sections, set a timer for eight minutes and sketch one idea in each section.

• •the first idea is often the least original; the exercise pushes you past it;
• •sketches don't need to be pretty; what matters is that the idea is clear;
• •when the timer goes off, pick the two or three strongest, and only then move to Figma.

💡 Use a familiar screen for the exercise: an app login, a cart or a profile. Eight versions of one screen quickly show how many solutions you'd been skipping.

Step 4

Learn to draw a scenario

A single screen is only part of the story. A storyboard shows how a person uses a product in a real situation. According to NN/g, every storyboard has three elements: a specific scenario, visuals and captions. The visuals can be simple: a person made of a circle and lines, a rectangle phone, a screen sketch and speech bubbles.

• •start with a one-sentence scenario: who the user is and what they need;
• •break it into a few frames: situation, problem, action with the product, result;
• •under each frame, write one sentence about what's happening.

Step 5

Train your hand every day

Your hand learns like any other skill: regularly and in small doses. Set aside a little time every day and alternate exercises:

• •straight lines, circles and rectangles freehand, for a confident stroke;
• •sketch a screen of your favorite app from memory, then compare it with the original;
• •quick sketches of objects around you, if you're interested in illustration or graphic design;
• •one Crazy 8's session a week on a new task.

💡 Photograph your sketches and keep them in one folder: after a month you'll see the difference yourself. You can also show them in the community and ask whether the idea is clear without explanation.