The Art of the Thumbnail

Alice Toth, Thursday, May 10, 2007 @ 2:18 pm

I’ve been a designer for a number of years and during that time, I’ve encountered many people who refuse to sketch out an idea because, as they insist, they’re “not artists”. Instead, they rely on verbal skills and attempt to paint a picture of a concept that probably sounds really great in their head, but just isn’t sounding all that great in their description. And even though they realize their audience isn’t even remotely on board, they’d first resort to interpretive dance rather than sketching out an idea. Because, as they claim, they’re “not artists”. Well neither am I. In fact, finger painting back in kindergarden was probably the pinnacle of my artistic career.

However, I did learn about thumbnail sketches, which are very small, rough sketches that let you quickly outline the basic elements of an idea. They’re an easy way to visually let other people know what you’re thinking. By their very nature they’re not a pretty or perfect drawing--objects overlaying other objects, lines scratched out, arrows pointing to a different version, a big X to abandon the initial idea which is now evolving into a new thumbnail, etc., etc. They’re small drawings, done quickly to work through an idea.

Though quick and small, thumbnails are very beneficial. Not only can
you immediately relay the basic elements of an idea to your audience, since they're visual they’ll help you see what isn’t quite working. You begin to see the
holes or realize that one idea would be stronger split into two or
wonder what in the world you were thinking in the first place. Rarely
is this insight possible without first putting pen to paper (or marker
to whiteboard as the case may be).

Using a thumbnail, you start with the broad concept and quickly sketch
different iterations as the conversation progresses. Your audience, grasping your initial concept, will see it evolve as they begin
to contribute to the conversation. Regardless of how you rate your
drawing skills, keep in mind that a quick sketch, a rough diagram or a
basic graph, no matter how messy, all provide a visual to reinforce the
verbal. So get sketching!

user experience design

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