Pros and Cons of Using Sketching in a UX Design Process?
I am very curious, I’ve been searching around the web. All I can find is Pros but no Cons.
I’d be happy if somebody can provide me with a url, or opinion that knows this topic much deeper, thanks!
Hi Erik,
Welcome. 
I’d love to help but I’m not quite sure that I understand your question.
What kind of sketching do you mean and at what stage of the process?
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Hi Hawk,
Thanks!
Read this: http://millo.co/how-sketching-will-take-your-design-process-to-the-next-level
It covers the benefits meaning the Pros of using sketching in a ux design process. But I am not able to find cons, no websites I’ve checked so far mention any cons of using sketching in a ux design process.
Thanks!
Do you think there are any cons?
The only issue I have ever come across is when shownig stakeholders they sometimes struggle to interpret this into how it will look finally, but I have come up with some solutions. Firstly, I emphasise that we are looking at the flow, not the content or visual aesthetics. Secondly, I make them interactive, I have post it notes and i tell them to use their finger as a mouse and click and I’ll show them what happens. After two or three times of seeing the paper prototypes and sketches they now understand and really see the value in the process.
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Yes, absolutely, however, I am not 100% sure. That’s why I want to know, if anyone knows a website that covers the Pros and Cons of using sketching in a UX design process.
I guess a con could be that it adds a stage to the process and so a certain element of time, however from my experience it reduces time spent later on.
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Is that all?
For me, sketching is one of the most important parts of the design process. It allows you to freely get ideas down onto a page quickly, it allows you to iterate quickly, show stakeholders quickly.
I’m a bit confused about why you think there should be cons? Are you asking for a particular reason?
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I searched “Pros and Cons on Using Sketching”, unfortunately I didn’t find anything that included Cons. So can it be confirmed that there are no Cons at all, doesn’t make any sense at all.
I think that makes sense. Not everything has a downside – for instance, are there any cons to drinking water?
Yes, there are if you over consume water. Lung edema.
Uncontrolled water consumption can kill you.
Honestly mates, @HAWK and @jacquidow, there got to be an article somewhere online that covers the Pros or Cons from a personal reflection based on experience as a designer.
That’s cool. Let us know if you find anything.
I think we’ve probably done this conversation to death.
Why?
Because you asked for our opinion and we gave it to you, but you’re sounding frustrated that it wasn’t what you wanted to hear.
If I’ve misunderstood, then I apologise, but I’m not sure there is much more we can say about this.
Maybe. I thought there would be UX Designers here that could give me a few cons, either their personal reflection on this or from a source e.g. some very famous worldwide UX Designer. Or just give a few cons from out of the blue.
And there may be. I’ll leave the topic open and we’ll see what happens, but TBH, I don’t think you’ll get any.
In the same way that drinking water isn’t a con, unless you drink a ridiculous amount, sketching supports most aspects of UX most of the time. I imagine that if you really hated drawing you might not think so, but that doesn’t make it philosophically wrong.
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Dropping this here:
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I have to agree with @HAWK that I’m not sure what else there is to say.
Is there a reason why you searched for the pros and cons to sketching? Have you been asked to sketch and want to form an argument against it for example?
I think if you talk to any UXer they will do sketching at some point in their process, whether that be on paper or using a sketching prototype tool like balsamiq.
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To me, sketching is just another way of communicating with people I live, work and hang around with. It’s a natural, human, visual expression; almost all of us could draw before we could write. The reasons why we stop communicating this way seem to mainly be societal and either artificial or external to our actual abilities.
Choosing to sketch or not is up to you. It’s a skill that we can get better at with practice. It’s not a side skill reserved for artists and designers. There are very clear benefits to including it in the way we think, work and play.
So, for me the question you’re actually asking, @vbasic_41, sounds like “What are the cons of communicating?”
What happens if we stop speaking or writing or using our body language?
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