What it’s about

Do you think you can’t draw? Do you wish you could confidently walk up to a whiteboard and sketch your ideas out in front of your colleagues? Do you wish the users in your storyboards were a bit more lively than just skinny stick men? Would you like to take more interesting and memorable notes during conferences and meetings?

This hands-on workshop will provide you with the necessary skills, practice and confidence to sketch your ideas and communicate more visually and engagingly.

We will start with a warm-up and basic sketching exercises and learn how to sketch simple objects, people and expressions. We’ll look at some key concepts of visual explanations and then move rapidly through a series of hands-on exercises interspersed with live demonstration, group reviews, and practical critique.

We will dive into the topic of visual notetaking (also known as sketchnoting), explore why visual notes are powerful and how you can start capturing presentations, meetings, workshops and research interviews in a more engaging way.

This fun and informative day will equip you with some fundamental sketching skills, a good understanding of how to memorably capture what you hear and how to communicate your ideas visually.

What you’ll learn

  • How to express ideas and concepts through simple sketching

  • How to sketch objects, people, hands and facial expressions.

  • How to develop visual metaphors for abstract concepts

  • How to build your own visual vocabulary

  • How to create structure and establish visual hierarchy

  • Sketchnoting as a technique to capture talks, meetings in a memorable and engaging way

  • How to overcome the challenges of sketchnoting live talks: how to deal with time pressure, structure, abstract concepts, etc.

  • How to work with ‘mistakes’ and accept them as happy accidents

Who should attend

This workshop is ideal for Trainers, Facilitators, Educators, Coaches, Designers, Researchers, Product Managers, Developers or anyone who needs to capture and express concepts quickly and engagingly. The techniques taught in this workshop will provide you with a valuable communication tool to add to your arsenal.

All skill levels are welcome and no previous sketching skills or knowledge are necessary.

What it looks like

What clients say

Testimonials

“Eva-Lotta created a day’s workshop for the Clearleft team to build confidence when sketching. She delivered it in a fun and informal way that made it accessible for everyone involved. The day was a huge success, the team had a great time and learnt a load of new skills that they’re still using every day.”

– James Bates, Creative Director, Clearleft

“I’d highly recommend Eva-Lotta to anyone. She’s incredibly down to earth and approachable, with an enviable ability to dissect her own process and technique and to make it accessible and engaging for others. Her workshop was a hugely enjoyable and valuable two days for our team.”

– Andrew Travers, Head of digital design, Co-op Digital

“Eva-Lotta has helped transform how QuantumBlack employees visually communicate with each other and with clients.”

– Matt Miller, Creative Director, QuantumBlack

"I have tried different sketching courses / workshops over the years and Eva's was the first that really unlocked my visual brain. She is not only a talented sketcher and teacher, but she has worked out a framework that really explains different sketching modes and gives a great entry point for your own approach. Sketching now feels natural to me and I love practising.”

– Irith Williams, Researcher, Strategist and Designer, Melbourne

“I was one of the students in your ‘Sketching and Visualisations’ workshop at KISD in early October 2017. This course really changed the way I take notes, document research and has genuinely really helped me to be a lot more visual. It was a great course and I really enjoyed it! It has helped me so much that I really wanted to say how much I appreciated it.”

– Eve McCann, Design Student

“The day was great fun. I learnt a lot from Eva-Lotta and was inspiring; it gives you the confidence to pick up a pen and illustrate a design concept rather than just discuss the concept. I now carry a sketchbook with me and have started taking sketchnotes, which is actually a very useful way of focusing the mind onto the important parts of the meeting/discussion, rather than just making linear notes. Great course.”

– Julian Alders, Creative Director, Fidelity

Re-cap article by the Coop Design Team who booked a two-day workshop.

Would you like to book this workshop for you team?

Get in touch with Eva-Lotta now to discuss the details. It is also possible to customise the workshop for you, depending on your needs and interests.

Book this workshop for your team

Or check Eva-Lotta’s speaking and teaching schedule for upcoming public workshop dates.

Get a little taster of Visual Thinking

Sign up for Eva-Lotta's Newsletter, download the Mini Visual Starter Kit and learn how to make your meeting notes and project planning more visual.

Get your Visual Starter Kit