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Five Design-Sheets : creative design and sketching for computing and visualisation
Roberts J., Headleand C., Ritsos P., Springer International Publishing, New York, NY, 2017. 333 pp. Type: Book (978-3-319556-26-0)
Date Reviewed: Nov 30 2017

As a university professor who teaches video game design and interaction design courses, I am always looking for techniques and methodologies that support sketching and prototyping and foster students’ creative thinking. This book instantly caught my eye. It provides hands-on and practical techniques that describe how to acquire and develop paper sketching skills, and describes useful approaches on how to cultivate design thinking and idea generation as part of the user interface (UI)/product design process. This book focuses on a sketching/prototyping methodology called Five Design-Sheets (FdS), following structured stages or phases corresponding to five sheets of paper. During the first sheet, ideas and possible outcomes are brainstormed. Sheets 2, 3, and 4 are devoted to creating three main designs iteratively, and sheet 5 is dedicated to implementing the final design. The book also explains that those design-by-sketching techniques and approaches and the FdS methodology are based on sound theories and concepts coming from graphic design, visual design, human-computer interaction, and cognitive science, among other knowledge areas and fields.

It is explained in this book, and I agree, that creative thinking in UI/user experience (UX) design can be learned, improved, and applied by using methods and techniques such as design thinking, along with learning and using techniques related to critical thinking in schools.

However, after reading chapter 4 (“Social, Ethical and Other Considerations to Interface Design”), it is not clear enough to me. The authors could explain social, ethical, and other considerations in separate subsections, giving the chapter more structure and clarity. Its current structure focuses on answering these questions: Can you think up new designs and can you do them? Should you create that design ethically? What if you create that design? Is it going to have ramifications; will it do any good? The chapter’s first pages focus on answering questions asking readers if they can and should create a prototype, and the consequences of making the prototype, but it is not clear enough on the social aspects of making prototype designs and sketches. In addition, I wanted to read more on brainstorming techniques. Brainstorming is mentioned only in a couple of pages.

The book describes a practical and structured methodology based on planning and designing by sketching, taking into account idea generation and creative thinking. This book will be useful for practitioners, students, instructors, and researchers from interaction design, human-computer interaction, ergonomics (human factors), video game design, and related areas. The book has plenty of illustrations, examples, and background information that will be suitable for school projects and assignments, research projects, and related academic activities where creative thinking and sketching are involved. I am seriously considering applying the FdS methodology in my courses, so my students can use it in their projects.

Reviewer:  Miguel A. Garcia-Ruiz Review #: CR145689 (1802-0050)
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User Interfaces (H.5.2 )
 
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