Forem: Let's Sketch Tech!

#VisualizeIT Workshop 6: "Sketch the Tech" | Marlena Compton

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 03:28:57 +0000

✨✨✨ Join us - it's free and online ✨✨✨
Date: Feb 6, 2021
Time: @1-2pm EST
Live: Video Link
Discussions: Reactor Meetup Page
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

📣 #VisualizeIT: The Series

Welcome to workshop #6 in this event series organized by Microsoft Reactor, Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

Read this post👇🏽 to learn more about the series goals and schedule - then join us and add visual storytelling to your tech toolbelt for 2021!

#VisualizeIT: A free online series of workshops to build your visual storytelling skills!

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D for Microsoft Azure ・ Dec 1 '20

#sketchnoting #visualizeit #beginners #storytelling

Speaker Cards Artwork: by Kaitlin Gu

🎨 "Sketch The Tech"

Workshop #6 happens Feb 6, 2021 at 1pm EST. It is free and online - register here to get the event link and other resources post-event.

Workshop Abstract:

Do you miss the whiteboard in your office?
Do you wish you could draw well enough to quickly share a complex idea?
Do you work on a big, complicated system that's hard to explain to new teammates?

Let's bust a myth: Drawing does not always mean fine art. In fact, an effective drawing doesn't even have to be "good" or "pretty." Architects, Engineers and Doctors have used basic drawing skills for centuries to work out problems and communicate the complicated.

Learn how software engineers and the folks working with them can do the same!

This 1-hour, interactive talk we’ll look at ways to sketch out a system and learn how to use drawing as a tool for communicating with remote teammates even if we are not artists.

👩🏽‍💻 Speaker: Marlena Compton

Marlena Compton initially learned how to “sketch out” software using IBM’s Rational Rose, System Architect and “The UML” on computers running Windows 2000. After spending 17 years building software at companies such as IBM and Atlassian, Marlena is an expert at communicating highly technical concepts and processes with a quick, hand-drawn sketch.

At IBM, she created digital drawings and diagrams for the IBM Garage to communicate their agile process and development work to a global audience. The question, "What does the Garage do?" was often met with the answer, "Look at Marlena's sketches!"

Marlena currently runs her own creative tech shop, Appear Works, where she organizes the Let's Sketch Tech! community and teaches workshops that bring the arts to tech.

📹 After The Event

Check back on this post for relevant resources shared at the event, and a link to the video recording when it becomes available.

The LetsSketchTech Community

If you liked this series, follow @letssketchtech on Twitter and right here on dev.to.

Let's Sketch Tech! Follow

Let's Sketch Tech! is an inclusive, online community focused on sketch-noting, graphic recording, visual thinking and visual storytelling of all things tech.

This is continuation of a series of free online virtual event series organized by the Microsoft Reactor team in collaboration with Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

#VisualizeIT Workshop 5: "Using Visuals to Communicate Ideas" | Ashton Rodenhiser

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 03:15:56 +0000

📣 #VisualizeIT: The Series

Welcome to workshop #3 in this event series organized by Microsoft Reactor, Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

Read this post👇🏽 to learn more about the series goals and schedule - then join us and add visual storytelling to your tech tool-belt for 2021!

#VisualizeIT: A free online series of workshops to build your visual storytelling skills!

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D for Microsoft Azure ・ Dec 1 '20

#sketchnoting #visualizeit #beginners #storytelling

Speaker Cards Artwork: by Kaitlin Gu

🎨 "From Tech Docs to Tech Talks"

_Workshop #4 happened Jan 16, 2020 at 1pm EST.

Workshop Abstract:

Do you think visually but struggle in meetings and personal note taking to capture the ideas the most meaningful way? The Visual Communication Method developed by Mind's Eye Creative brings to light 8 foundational easy to learn elements to shorten the learning curve on how to put pen to paper in a purposeful and engaging way. This session is perfect for those who consider themselves visual learners but tell themselves they 'can't draw'.

For group settings: Always leave sessions confident every team member knows exactly what to do and why, so they can execute the plan flawlessly. More importantly, avoid snooze-worthy meetings!

For personal note taking: Stop daydreaming in its tracks and have fun while doing it! Remember gems from the presentation so that you can take those ideas and put them into action!

👩🏽‍💻 Speaker: Ashton Rodenhiser

Ashton Rodenhiser is passionate about lifting the creative spirit in everyone that she meets. For the past seven years, she has followed her passion for helping people communicate their ideas and married it with creativity by becoming an entrepreneur.

You’ll often find her with markers in hand as she’s helping bring ideas to life through graphic recording and graphic facilitation practices. She’s worked with amazing non-profits as well as Fortune 500 companies.

It may appear as if she’s only an often-silent illustrator in the room. In fact, she’s helping to break down complex concepts and notions into an easily understandable visual language, helping others retain more information while inspiring people to continue practicing her techniques in the world.

Over the years, she has brought close to a thousand presentations and conversations to life either on paper or digitally. When she’s not working with clients, she’s being silly with her three young kids and husband in rural Canada.

Find her on Twitter
Explore her site
Follow #sketchthedocs and #visualizeit on dev.to

📹 Post Event: Recording & Reactions

Missed the talk? Check out the recording here:

Here are a few reactions from attendees!

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The LetsSketchTech Community

If you liked this series, follow @letssketchtech on Twitter and right here on dev.to.

Let's Sketch Tech! Follow

Let's Sketch Tech! is an inclusive, online community focused on sketch-noting, graphic recording, visual thinking and visual storytelling of all things tech.

This is continuation of a series of free online virtual event series organized by the Microsoft Reactor team in collaboration with Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

#VisualizeIT Workshop 4: "Doodling for Technologists" | Denise Yu

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 03:05:24 +0000

📣 #VisualizeIT: The Series

Welcome to workshop #3 in this event series organized by Microsoft Reactor, Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

Read this post👇🏽 to learn more about the series goals and schedule - then join us and add visual storytelling to your tech tool-belt for 2021!

#VisualizeIT: A free online series of workshops to build your visual storytelling skills!

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D for Microsoft Azure ・ Dec 1 '20

#sketchnoting #visualizeit #beginners #storytelling

Speaker Cards Artwork: by Kaitlin Gu

🎨 "From Tech Docs to Tech Talks"

Workshop #4 happens Jan 9, 2020 at 1pm EST. It is free and online - register here to get the event link and other resources post-event.

Workshop Abstract:

In this 2-hour session, Denise will take participants through a series of different lessons, each focusing on a different skillset for creating engaging, whimsical doodles about technical subject matter. All you need is pen and paper! No previous drawing experience required, and all lessons are 100% kid-friendly!

👩🏽‍💻 Speaker: Denise Yu

Denise works as a Senior Software Engineer at GitHub, where she builds tools to facilitate productive, healthy collaboration within open source communities. Her superpower is visualizing every technical concept in terms of cat cartoons: deniseyu.io/art

Agenda:
• People & Expressions [25m]
• Letters & Banners [25m]
• 10m break
• Anthropomorphism [25m]
• Lo-fi Metaphors + practice [35m]

Find her on Twitter
Explore her site for art and resources
Follow #sketchthedocs and #visualizeit on dev.to

📹 Post Event: Recording & Reactions

Missed the talk? Check out the recording here:

Here are a few reactions from attendees!

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The LetsSketchTech Community

If you liked this series, follow @letssketchtech on Twitter and right here on dev.to.

Let's Sketch Tech! Follow

Let's Sketch Tech! is an inclusive, online community focused on sketch-noting, graphic recording, visual thinking and visual storytelling of all things tech.

This is continuation of a series of free online virtual event series organized by the Microsoft Reactor team in collaboration with Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

#VisualizeIT Workshop 3: "Sketch The Docs, Chalk The Talk" | Nitya Narasimhan

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 00:16:15 +0000

✨✨✨ Join us - it's free and online ✨✨✨
Date: Dec 19 (Saturday)
Time: @1-3pm EST
Live: Video Link
RSVP: Reactor Meetup Page
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

📣 #VisualizeIT: The Series

Welcome to workshop #3 in this event series organized by Microsoft Reactor, Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

Read this post👇🏽 to learn more about the series goals and schedule - then join us and add visual storytelling to your tech tool-belt for 2021!

#VisualizeIT: A free online series of workshops to build your visual storytelling skills!

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D for Microsoft Azure ・ Dec 1 '20

#sketchnoting #visualizeit #beginners #storytelling

Speaker Cards Artwork: by Kaitlin Gu

🎨 "From Tech Docs to Tech Talks"

Workshop #3 happens Dec 19, 2020 at 1pm EST. It is free and online - register here to get the event link and other resources post-event.

Workshop Abstract:

If you work in tech, chances are you’ve “written documentation” or given a “technical talk” to a diverse audience. Visual Storytelling skills can help you improve written or delivered content in a way that improves your audience’s comprehension and recall.

In this workshop we’ll explore this space in four segments:

Visual Toolkit = quick primer on drawing tools & process
Sketch The Docs = apply toolkit to visualizing tech documentation!
Chalk The Talk = apply toolkit to visualizing talk flow & slides
Scene To Zine = other ideas for applying toolkits

Each segment will provide time and freedom for you to choose your own adventure and explore specific subsets of ideas at your own pace.

Materials Needed:

Lots of paper, pens, and a few color markers or pencils. Bring your curiosity and imagination. If you have a specific talk or documentation page you want to create visual notes for, that's icing! Most of all, tap into your inner sense of creativity and joy. You won't regret it!

👩🏽‍💻 Speaker: Nitya Narasimhan

Nitya is a community & technology advocate with 20+ years of experience across industry, academia, startups and consultancy. She has a PhD in Computer Engineering with software research & development expertise spanning distributed systems, ubiquitous & social computing, mobile web, cloud & ML/AI.

She's passionate about building inclusive communities and pragmatic software solutions that address real-world needs. Her mission is to help developers translate awareness of emerging technologies & platforms like Microsoft Azure into actionable impact on products, careers and communities.

Find her on Twitter
Explore her site on visual storytelling
Follow #sketchthedocs and #visualizeit on dev.to

📑 Useful Resources

Bookmark this website and revisit the Resources section periodically. I'll be updating it with content and resources relevant to the 4 segments above. You can also follow these tags on dev.to for updates.

#sketchthedocs Follow

#visualizeit Follow

📹 After The Event

Check back on this post for relevant resources shared at the event, and a link to the video recording when it becomes available.

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Update: The recording is now available

I also wrote an article on why I do these talks:

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And since this is the New Year, I will hugely advocate for #sketchercising your mind by spending a few minutes each morning just doodline something fun and whimsical.

Here's an example:

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The LetsSketchTech Community

If you liked this series, follow @letssketchtech on Twitter and right here on dev.to.

Let's Sketch Tech! Follow

Let's Sketch Tech! is an inclusive, online community focused on sketch-noting, graphic recording, visual thinking and visual storytelling of all things tech.

This is continuation of a series of free online virtual event series organized by the Microsoft Reactor team in collaboration with Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

#VisualizeIT Workshop 2: "Creative Journaling for Technologists" | Brittney Braxton

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 12:07:47 +0000

✨✨✨ Join us - it's free and online ✨✨✨
Date: Dec 12 (TODAY!)
Time: @1-2pm EST
Live: Video Link
Discussions: Reactor Meetup Page
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

📣 #VisualizeIT: The Series

Welcome to workshop #2 in this event series organized by Microsoft Reactor, Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

Read this post👇🏽 to learn more about the series goals and schedule - then join us and add visual storytelling to your tech toolbelt for 2021!

#VisualizeIT: A free online series of workshops to build your visual storytelling skills!

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D for Microsoft Azure ・ Dec 1 '20

#sketchnoting #visualizeit #beginners #storytelling

Speaker Cards Artwork: by Kaitlin Gu

🎨 "Creative Journaling for Technologists"

Workshop #2 happens Dec 12, 2020 at 1pm EST. It is free and online - register here to get the event link and other resources post-event.

Workshop Abstract:

Are you working with impact and purpose? Do you know what you're doing month-to-month with your role? How difficult is it for you to track your accomplishments? If any of these questions lead to uncertain answers, then come learn what it means to journal professionally.

In this workshop, you will learn about journaling and how it is beneficial to your success and expertise. We will work together on building a journal by learning how to create layouts and workflows that are best for your working style. Lastly, we'll touch on making time for reflection so that you're able to complete goals victoriously and ace end of the year performance reviews.

Materials Needed:

A notebook that sparks joy, a ruler, and a few different colored pens or markers. You're totally welcome to bring more supplies like washi tape, stickers, or paint. This is a time to be creative!

👩🏽‍💻 Speaker: Brittney Braxton

Brittney is a software engineer at Duo Security. She enjoys crafting, coding, and cats, all while enjoying a good cup of tea. Brittney strives to connect with folks who geek out over code with hopes to contribute to a friendly and inviting tech community.

Find her on Twitter
Read her blog to learn about her various projects.
See her art on Instagram

📹 After The Event

Check back on this post for relevant resources shared at the event, and a link to the video recording when it becomes available.

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The LetsSketchTech Community

If you liked this series, follow @letssketchtech on Twitter and right here on dev.to.

Let's Sketch Tech! Follow

Let's Sketch Tech! is an inclusive, online community focused on sketch-noting, graphic recording, visual thinking and visual storytelling of all things tech.

This is continuation of a series of free online virtual event series organized by the Microsoft Reactor team in collaboration with Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

#VisualizeIT Workshop 1: "Introduction to Procreate" | Kaitlin Gu

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 16:40:36 +0000

✨✨✨ Join us - it's free and online ✨✨✨
Date: Dec 5
Time: @1-2pm EST
Live: Video Link
Discussions: Reactor Meetup Page
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

📣 About #VisualizeIT: The Series

This is the kickoff session for a free online virtual event series organized by the Microsoft Reactor team in collaboration with Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

Learn more about it in our first post:

#VisualizeIT: A free online series of workshops to build your visual storytelling skills!

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D for Microsoft Azure ・ Dec 1 '20

#sketchnoting #visualizeit #beginners #storytelling

Then join us to #VisualizeIT and check off that New Year resolution to learn a new skill!

🎨 Workshop: "Introduction To Procreate"

The workshop happens Dec 5, 2020 at 1pm EST. It is free and online - register here to get the event link and be notified of resources and recordings after the fact.

This session will introduce you to the basics of Procreate, a drawing app for the Apple iPad. We will go through different brushes and tools, basic drawing techniques, how to use layers, and some animation basics. No prior experience is necessary but you will need an iPad with Procreate if you want to follow along (an Apple pencil would be helpful as well).

Watch the recording here:

Resources:
Procreate Workshop

👩🏽‍💻 Speaker: Kaitlin Gu

Gu is an iOS programmer and illustrator. She works on providing open access to education. For illustrating, she makes comics exploring family relationships and self reflection. In her spare time she enjoys dancing and making things with her hands!

Find her on [Twitter][@_gubean)
Read her blog to learn about her other intiatives.
See her art on Instagram

She also created all the speaker cards artwork for this series (see the banner image for an example) - and we are forever grateful

📹 Post-Event Reactions

Check out these sketchnotes and tweets from the event:

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The LetsSketchTech Community

Gu did an earlier version of this workshop at the LetsSketchTech in May 2020 that gives you an idea of what you might learn.

If you liked this series, follow @letssketchtech on Twitter and right here on dev.to.

Let's Sketch Tech! Follow

Let's Sketch Tech! is an inclusive, online community focused on sketch-noting, graphic recording, visual thinking and visual storytelling of all things tech.

This is the kickoff session for a free online virtual event series organized by the Microsoft Reactor team in collaboration with Azure Advocates and the Lets Sketch Tech community.

Want to be a better public speaker? Learn to sketchnote!

Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D — Sun, 23 Aug 2020 03:45:42 +0000

The Backstory

Earlier today, I was scanning Twitter, when I saw this post. The question was a familiar one.

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In fact, the topic of helping under-represented folks step up on tech stages everywhere is core to the mission of Global Diversity CFP Day. And since its inception in 2018, I've been part of the team that runs the New York City event! Our call to action is to #MakeTheTalkHappen. So I weighed in on the tweet with suggestions, including this one:

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In this post, I want to dive deeper into what I meant by that.

Chalk The Talk: Visualize Your Story!

If you follow me on Twitter or dev.to, you might know that I am a huge fan of visual storytelling. In fact, if you want to read or subscribe to those articles, just follow the #sketchthedocs tag.

Sketchnoting is about visual note-taking.

It's about taking verbose documentation or conversation and distilling it down into a concise form (a sheet of paper) using images, text, layouts, colors and other cues that help facilitate understanding and recall.

Public speaking is about interactive communications

It's about making a complex concept understandable to a diverse audience in a constrained amount of time using slides (content), interactive elements (code) and your unique perspective and flow (conversation) to connect the dots.

Both focus on storytelling under constraints

In both cases you are dealing with communicating ideas in a memorable way (drawing, speaking) - but with constraints (canvas space, session time) that require you to really think about what you want to say and how you want to say it.

Visual note-taking helps your public speaking journey

The talk walks through various examples of visual note-taking and provides a quick sketchnoting tutorial. However the core message comes down to this: Visual note-taking can help you become a better public speaker in three ways!

Chalk The Talk: The 3 Takeaways

Here is the sketchnote for my talk. I created this some time before my presentation. And if you watch the video, you will find some differences in flow or content - but the core messaging will be clearly identifiable.

Here's how sketchnoting helps me be a better public speaker:

1 - Plan It / Before The Talk

Before I even do a single slide, I first jot down what I want to talk about on a sheet of paper - just like the sketchnote above. It helps clarify my thinking and construct the worflow.

Then I move those points onto index cards.

I use the lined side to write down impromptu speaker notes, and the blank slide to write down the key message, ideally with an image and few words.
I try to organize everything into piles of threes - start with "What, Why, How", then break each topic into 3 more cards that dive into detail - until I have a tree.
I look at the time I have for the talk, assume 1 minute per slide - and know the total number of slides I need. If I have more, then I need to cut the time I allocate to a slide or I need to cut the slide itself.
The tree helps me decide which node to eliminate or simplify to keep my time under control, while still keeping the structure and flow intact.
I stick up the index cards (in this grid or tree format) somewhere where I can see it every day for the next few days. I might move a card around, add a card or change contents - but with each day, my mind is subconsciously forming the story and getting familiar with the flow I need to have.
I make my slides just days before the event - at a point where I know I won't change the content or flow, and I just need to translate index cards into digital slides. (And yes, there are lots of free icons, images and quotes sites to help you make the transfer more effective)
And then I just absorb the new visuals and practice the flow in my head. The final slides don't even matter as much. By then, my mind knows what it wants to say, when, and how! The slides are just the backdrop to the dialog.

Here's what my index cards looked like, before I made slides for my talk.

2 - Share It / After the Talk

But wait. You are not done! Giving the talk is one thing, but getting people to recall it later, or follow through on action items, is harder.

Visual notes can help. In the noisy social engagements that happen at conferences, a tweet with a visual sketchnote stands out like a beacon. And people not only see it - they engage with it. It has happened to me every time

There is something in every human being that appreciates creativity. And when they engage, they also remember the image and the context. And that helps you not only build your personal brand, but ensure that the takeaway message they see last, is yours!

This is how I shared my talk slides during the conference, right after my talk. Bonus: I scheduled it (using Tweetdeck) so it posted automatically even as I was still speaking, so I could actually reference it for those who asked for links

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Think about it. After your read this article, go back and scan my sketchnote. Does it make more sense? Are you more likely to remember that picture than all these words?

3 - Practice It / During others' talks

The most common excuse I hear (when I try to get people to sketchnote) is this: _"I can't draw. I am not artistic."

If you listen to the talks from this conference you will realize that none of the speakers consider themselves art experts. Rather, the focus is on self-expression and creativity with a focus on sharing ideas and perspectives. And there is only one requirement. Practice. Yes, practice! practice! practice!

So how do you practice? You listen to others talks and sketchnote them. Then share those sketchnotes at the relevant conferences. This will give you three core tools that help your visual storytelling journey:

Rapid Note-Taking. Taking notes in real-time will soon get you into the habit of using shorthand, or learning what to capture and what to leave out. And, you'll start understanding how to space or layout your notes to use the constraints or paper size or digital canvas most effectively.
Speaker Workflows. Sketchnoting others' talks will help you start seeing the patterns that experienced speakers use, to ensure they cover a topic in a way that is clear and memorable. You will begin to understand ways to structure your "index cards", or create visual cues that help connect the storyline at various points.
Brand Building. Chances are you will attend events that you hope to speak at one day. Sharing sketchnotes of others talks during these events gives you visibility and drives meaningful connections with attendees that can make a difference. If you are breaking into a new tech community, having familiar faces and a sense of belonging can give you the boost of confidence you need when you step on the stage yourself.

Here's an example of how I listened to someone else's talk and used it to practice a new sketchnoting skill, that also helped create a new asset for my own talk

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I wrote this post in the spur of the moment. I hope it helps and I hope you get a chance to watch the talk or see the examples in the slides below - and then share your comments and feedback with me right here.

Resources: Video & Slides

You can grab the slides here, on Speakerdeck:

And you can watch the talk here, on YouTube:

LetsSketchTech: The Conference

If you are interested in visual storytelling tools, tips and techniques - definitely check out the talks from the inaugural Lets Sketch Tech event here on YouTube

They were each so compelling that I intend to share my sketchnotes and learnings from them over the course of the next few weeks. The lessons learned stand the test of time, and the speakers are amazing!

LetsSketchTech: The Community

The conference is just the start. The real value was finding a community of like-minded people to learn from, and journey together with as we explore ideas. I am delighted to say that the community is now also on dev.to! This is my first article published under that organization.

Let's Sketch Tech! Follow

Let's Sketch Tech! is an inclusive, online community focused on sketch-noting, graphic recording, visual thinking and visual storytelling of all things tech.

I hope you will hit that follow button ⬆️ to get more articles and meet more creative technologists. And, perhaps even share your own visual storytelling journey, tips or tricks soon.

Feedback: Very Meta!

Anytime you give a talk, it's the feedback that tells you how much the topic resonated, and what people took away from it. When you speak at an event like this one, you get visual feedback too - in sketchnotes. The feeling is indescribable and I am grateful.

Here is what the community took away from this talk! I hope it was useful and I treasure any feedback that can help make this more valuable for others.

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