“Beyond this place there be
dragons.”

In Instanbul (1502)…

A Strange Request is Made

Golden Horn Bridge Sketch

Da Vinci Details the Design

Da Vinci’s Bridge to Nowhere

In 1991, It’s Built in
Norway

Why Da Vinci?

Hi, my name is Brian
Sullivan. @bigdesign@BrianKSullivan #davinci

My Friends and I run
the Big Design Conference.

Top 10 Thinkers of All-Time
1. Leonardo Da Vinci 2. William Shakespeare 3. The Pyramid Builders 4. Johanne Wolfgang van Goethe 5. Michelangelo 6. Sir Isaac Newton 7. Thomas Jefferson 8. Alexander the Great 9. Phidias (the Architect of Rome) 10. Albert Einstein source: Tony Buzan’s Book of Genius (1994)

7 Steps to Everyday Genius1.
Be curious. You should be constantly learning.2. Test knowledge. Learn from your mistakes.3. Improve your own experience. Make it multi-sensory.4. Embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.5. Whole-brain thinking (science/art, logic/emotion).6. Know the physical world (grace, dexterity, fitness).7. Use system-thinking. See interconnections.Every designer should have these characteristics(and every problem-solver).

• Content

UX Sketch Books Published

UX Sketch Paper Created• A3
and A4 Sketching Paper• Four Dots Per Inch A4 Paper• iPhone Wireframe Sheets• Android Application Sheets• 4 Cell Storyboard Paper• ZURB Sketch Sheets• 6-UP Sketch Sheets

Sketch Software Released• Sketch Flow
• Basalmiq

UX Sketching: Design Studio •
Participants produce several sketches. • Discuss and critique, then re-sketch. • Merge ideas into one design concept.

Generate, Refine...RepeatYou use the creative
and evaluate sidesof your brain in Design Studios.

Can Da Vinci Apply to
UX?

Da Vinci’sTrue Legacy

The Last Supper (1495-98)

Mona Lisa (1503-05)

Only 30 Finished Paintings

Sketches: Greatest Legacy

He Was a Prolific Sketcher
13,000 pages

13,000 Pages Equates To… Harry
Potter Series 4,100+ Chronicles of Narnia 768+ Lord of the Rings Trilogy 1,011+ Hunger Games Trilogy 1,155+ Game of Thrones Series 4,197+ 9/11 Commission Report 1,181+ NIV Bible 585 Total Pages 12,997

6,000 Storyboards for Brave Source:
Mashable (2012)

Under a Painting is a
Sketch

Lots of Sketches Per Page•
Vitruvian Man = 2• Shoulders = 7• Flowers = 20• Spike Ladder = 7• Glider = 8• Tank = 3He is the most prolificsketcher ever.

5 Sketching Secrets

Da Vinci’s Sketching Method1. Sketch
by hand on sheets of paper.2. Do initial sketches alone.3. Review with others, later.4. Use annotations, arrows, and labels.5. Save and re-visit earlier sketches.

1. Use Separate Pages Codex
Atlanticus (over 1,000 individual sketches)

No iPad

No Field Notes/Moleskine Bound pages
are too constraining.

Separate Pages

Leonardo Lessons:Sketch by Hand:1. No
constraints.2. Quick and cheap.3. No special skills.On Separate Pages:1. Portable.2. Re-organized.3. Grouped.

2. Do Initial Sketches AloneDa
Vinci dissected 10 cadavers for hisover 750 sketches on human anatomy.

Da Vinci Sketched AloneHe would
initially sketch alone. Then, adoctor reviewed for technical accuracy.

“Cause of a Sweet Death”
Da Vinci asked an old man if he could him dissect him when he died. The old man accepted. Leonardo held the old man when he died. He started dissecting within a few minutes.

Two Artists, Same InterestDa Vinci
and Michaelangelo dissectedhuman cadavers—socially repugnant.

Sketch Alone

Leonardo Lessons:Sketch Alone:1. No distractions.2.
Generate faster.3. Incubate time.4. Reflect, inspire.5. Breathing room.6. Avoid group think.

3. Review with OthersMarcontonio della
Torre reviewed thehuman anatomy sketches for accuracy.

Reviewed by GeneralsDa Vinci reviewed
sketches of weaponswith generals and soldiers.

Review Together

Leonardo Lessons:Review Together:1. Need expertise.2.
Collaboration.3. Validation.4. Accuracy.5. Consensus.

4. Annotate, Arrows, LabelsDa Vinci’s
sketches were wireframes:pictures with words, arrows, and labels.

Dissecting a Da Vinci Sketch
1. Picture in center. 2. Label on top. 3. Annotate on side. 4. Arrows point to key content.

Wireframe are the Same 1.
Picture in center. 2. Label on top. 3. Annotate on side. 4. Arrows point to key content.Yes, a picture is worth a 1,000 words.Words with pictures equals clarity.

Leonardo Lessons:Sketches Need:1. Picture2. Description3.
Arrows4. Annotations5. Labels

5. Save and Re-visit LaterSome
scholars think Da Vinci used anearly form of the Cornell Method.

Da Vinci’s Shortcuts Main Questionscontent
and area Keywords Summary Information

Reorganized Sketches Codex Atlanticus (over
1,000 individual sketches)

Grouped Weapon SketchesDa Vinci drew
these sketches at differenttimes, but they are grouped together.

Grouped Anatomy SketchesMarcontonio della Torre
wanted to publishthis work, but he died of the Black Death.

Technology Helps Us Group Evernote
Fireworks Flickr Facebook

Revisit Later

Leonardo Lessons:Store & Re-visit:1. Don’t
throw out.2. Store for later.3. Cluster together.4. Make findable.5. Revisit later.

Generating Ideas

1. Strive for Quantity2. Defer
Judgment3. Seek New Combinations4. Use Your Imagination

1. Strive for QuantityVitruvian Man
is aniconic sketch ofhuman potential.The Greek scholar,Vitruvius, said a man’sbody could fit insidea circle and a square.

750 Anatomy Sketches

Three MasterpiecesInnovation scholars predict that
it takes3,000 raw ideas for 1 successful idea.• 13,000 sketches = 3 Masterpieces• 750 anatomy sketches = Vitruvian Man

Leonardo Lessons:1. Quantity Leads to
Quality.2. 13,000 sketches led to 3 classic masterpieces.

2. Defer Judgment“It is easier
to resist in the beginning than at the end.” - Da VinciDefer positive andnegative judgment.

Sketch of The Last Supper

Jesus and Judas Problems

Two Years Later…

EXCELLENT SUPER SPECTACULAR KILLER NEAT
SWEETCOOLAWESOME BEST WOW #1 YES

REJECT DENIEDPAINFUL NIX IT! NOPE
WEAKBLOWSIT SUCKS!!! BAD UGLY #2 NO

Leonardo Lessons:1. Positive judgment shuts
you down.2. Negative judgment shuts you down.3. Your own judgment blocks you, too.4. Your sketch is a draft to re-visit.

3. New Combinations Da Vinci
had a pet dragon.

Leonardo’s Pet Dragon Da Vinci
created a pet dragon by gluing other animal parts to a lizard. • He added fish scales.• • He gave it a bat ears. • He painted the lizard. • He added wings that flapped when it walked.

• Da Vinci always looked
to put things to another use.

The First Automobile Using the
existing tools of his day, he made the/ the first automobile. • Steering columns.• • Rack and pinions. • Wheels. • Cranks. • Springs.

Leonardo Lessons:1. New combinations from
existing parts.2. Put old things to a new uses.3. Take an element and make it bigger or smaller.

4. Use Your Imagination“Why does
the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?” - Da Vinci

Common Response Zone

Da Vinci’s Flying Machines

Successful Glider TestIn 2006, scientists
flew a Da Vinci Glider,using available material from his time.

Leonardo Lessons:1. Avoid the common
response zone.2. More ideas force you to use your imagination.3. Let ideas incubate. Re-visit with a new perspective.

1. Strive for Quantity2. Defer
Judgment3. Seek New Combinations4. Use Your Imagination

Refining Ideas

1. Use Positive Judgment2. Consider
Novelty3. Stay Focused4. Redirect Yourself

1. Use Positive Judgment“The greatest
deception men suffer is from their own opinions.” - Da Vinci

65,000 thoughts per day.65% are
negative, roughly 42,000.

He Struggled Personally

REJECT DENIEDPAINFUL NIX IT! NOPE
WEAKBLOWSIT SUCKS!!! BAD UGLY #2 NO

Leonardo Lessons:1. Use positive judgment
first.2. Explore for value and benefit.3. Avoid the natural tendency to think initially negative.

2. Consider Novelty“There are three
classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, those who do not see.” - Da Vinci

The City of Venice called
one ofDa Vinci’s inventions “impractical”.

Pope Leo X Bans AutopsiesDa
Vinci’s dissectionsof cadavers was seenas disgusting. It wasoutlawed by the Pope.

Sultan Rejected His Bridge “Swoop
and poop! The executive seagull maneuver.” - Jared Spool

Leonardo Lesson:1. Don’t dismiss novel
ideas immediately.2. Novel ideas might lead to innovations.3. Many of Leonardo’s ideas were rejected.4. Your idea may be ahead of its time.

3. Stay Focused“As every divided
kingdom falls, so every mind divided between many studies confounds and saps itself.” - Da Vinci

Perfectionist & Procrastinator

Break Lunch BreakYou will lose
focus from time to time.Take a break. Go for a walk. Re-focus.

The Da Vinci DilemmaToo many
talents, not enough time.• Mathematician• Scientist• Anatomist• Military Strategist• Civil Engineer• Artist• Sketcher

A Death Bed Confession“I have
offended God and mankind because my work didnt reach the quality it should have.” - Da Vinci

Leonardo Lessons:1. Stay focused on
what’s important.2. Take breaks or walks to re-focus.3. Focus on one thing at a time.4. Don’t procrastinate.5. Perfectionism kills productivity.

4. Redirect Yourself

Cesar Borgia, Short Bio• Son
of a Pope• Cardinal by age 17• Killed his brother• Dictator in his land• Survived poisoning• Killed many followers• Died in war• Patron of Da Vinci for a short time

Machiavelli, Short Bio • Politician
for 14 years • Head of Florence militia • Wrote The Prince • “Ends justify the means.” • “Better to be feared than loved.” • “Too much freedom can lead to the souls decay.”

Borgia: Machiavelli’s Prince

Da Vinci Caught in Middle

Suffered Severe TraumaDa Vinci had
"a profoundpsychological change . . .as a result of his terrifyingexperiences“ with Borgia.source: Paul Strathern (2010)

Da Vinci Built Maps

Improved Borgia’s FortressIt had rounded
walls to counter thedirect impact of a cannonball. Interiorwalls led to fortified positions.

Designed a Movable Bridge

Da Vinci’s “Grotesque Error”Imagine what
Borgiawould done with:• Glider• Crossbow• Tank• Cluster Bomb• Machine Gun• Helicopter• Hand-crank catapult

Da Vinci Redirects His WorkDa
Vinci gives Borgiadefensive items:• Map of Milan• Map of Imola• Hedometer• Movable Bridges• Improved Ladder• Fortress Redesign

Da Vinci Redirects His Work“I
will not publish, nor divulge such things because of the evil nature of men.” - Da Vinci

Stores Them in a Codex
Codex Atlanticus (most of his military sketches)

“I have wasted my hours.”
Final words of Da Vinci

Leonardo Lessons:1. You cannot avoid
politics.2. Maintain your own values, to the end.3. Design can be done under duress.4. Re-direct yourself to positive things.

Final Thoughts

5 Sketching Secrets1. Sketch by
hand. Use sheets of paper.2. Do initial sketches alone.3. Review with others, later.4. Use annotations, arrows, and labels.5. Save and re-visit earlier sketches.

• Content

1. Strive for Quantity2. Defer
Judgment3. Seek New Combinations4. Use Your Imagination

1. Use Positive Judgment2. Consider
Novelty3. Stay Focused4. Redirect Yourself

1. Strive for Quantity 1.
Use Positive Judgment2. Defer Judgment 2. Consider Novelty3. Seek New Combinations 3. Stay Focused4. Use Your Imagination 4. Redirect Yourself