Sketching

We’ve partnered with Matt Corrall, an experienced UX designer, to take you through a hands-on tutorial about sketching out your ideas. Think of this tutorial as an interactive exercise.


This tutorial takes approx. 1 hour

It’s important that you work through these videos in the order they’re presented, as you’ll build off knowledge from each video. If you’d like to watch the videos at a faster speed, click the   settings icon and choose your preferred speed.

In this tutorial, you’ll:

  • Watch as Matt demonstrates how he sketches screens
  • Do a quick exercise to create sketches of your own to compare with Matt’s work

Why Sketch Your Ideas? 3 minutes

In this video, Matt will introduce you to the concept of sketching.

Watch Matt Sketch a Home Screen Demonstration, 19 minutes

In this video, Matt will demonstrate his process for sketching the home screen of a bike app he’s been working on. He’ll explain his decisions so that you can follow along and understand his process.

Watch Matt Sketch a Menu Screen Demonstration, 10 minutes

Here, Matt will sketch another kind of screen to introduce some new sketching concepts. As with the last video, he’ll share his thoughts while working so that you can understand why he makes certain decisions.

Sketching Your Own Screens Hands-on work, 25 minutes

Think of this video as an interactive exercise. You’ll be briefed on the work you’ll tackle and create sketches based on the instructions and what you’ve learned about sketching.

Here’s the task in case you want to refer back to it while working on your sketches:

The scenario:

Someone’s bike breaks down on the roadside and they need to use our app to get help.

Your assignment: 15-20 minutes

You’re working on a bike maintenance app that teaches people how to fix and maintain their bike. You have seen Matt sketch the home and menu screens; for this exercise, you will sketch the tutorial screen.

Be sure to include:

  1. An app header
  2. A clear tutorial title
  3. A back button
  4. A video
  5. Step-by-step guide content

Compare Your Sketches with Matt’s Work Hands-on work, 10 minutes

Matt will now walk you through the sketches he created and explain his design decisions. If you used the same reasoning and made similar decisions, you’re on the right track — even if your sketches look nothing alike.

Ask yourself the following questions:

  1. How were your sketching decisions similar or different from Matt’s?
  2. What can you learn by comparing your work with his?
  3. What questions do you still have about sketching?

We hope that you feel like you have a better understanding of sketching after working through this tutorial. If these videos sparked questions about this topic, please bring them up with your mentor during your next call!

You can learn more about Matt by visiting his website at Corrall Design.

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About the designer

Matt Corrall of Corrall Design is a freelance designer based in London. During his fifteen years in the business, he's designed everything from Lego and chocolate packaging to VR applications and wind-farm software. Today, he specializes in challenging user interfaces and creating elegant digital experiences for professionals.

This tutorial is part of Springboard’s self-paced, mentor-guided UX design bootcamps, which emphasize hands-on learning. Find out more about the foundational UX Design Course and the more advanced UX Career Track, which includes a job guarantee.