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In this talk, you will learn about five sketching secrets of Leonardo Da Vinci, four rules for generating ideas, and four rules for refining ideas. I call these lessons from Leonardo. You might find a few stories about Leonardo Da Vinci that you did not know.
Director, User Research and Usability at Sabre Corporation
In this talk, you will learn about five sketching secrets of Leonardo Da Vinci, four rules for generating ideas, and four rules for refining ideas. I call these lessons from Leonardo. You might find a few stories about Leonardo Da Vinci that you did not know.
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 Genius
1. 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).
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
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
Lots of Sketches Per Page
• Vitruvian Man = 2 • Shoulders = 7 • Flowers = 20 • Spike Ladder = 7 • Glider = 8 • Tank = 3 He is the most prolific sketcher ever.
Da Vinci’s Sketching Method 1.
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.
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.
Da Vinci Sketched Alone He
would initially sketch alone. Then, a doctor 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.
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.
1. Strive for Quantity Vitruvian
Man is an iconic sketch of human potential. The Greek scholar, Vitruvius, said a man’s body could fit inside a circle and a square.
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.
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.
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. Avoid the
common response zone. 2. More ideas force you to use your imagination. 3. Let ideas incubate. Re-visit with a new perspective.
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
The Da Vinci Dilemma Too
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 didn't 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.
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 soul's decay.”
Suffered Severe Trauma Da Vinci
had "a profound psychological change . . . as a result of his terrifying experiences“ with Borgia. source: Paul Strathern (2010)
Da Vinci’s “Grotesque Error” Imagine
what Borgia would done with: • Glider • Crossbow • Tank • Cluster Bomb • Machine Gun • Helicopter • Hand-crank catapult
Da Vinci Redirects His Work
Da Vinci gives Borgia defensive 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
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.
5 Sketching Secrets 1. 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.