Leonardo da Vinci's sketching process and techniques provide valuable lessons for designers today. He would sketch prolifically by hand on separate sheets of paper, doing initial sketches alone before reviewing them with others later. His sketches included annotations, arrows and labels for clarity. Da Vinci stored his sketches and would revisit them later, demonstrating the value of saving early ideas. His prolific sketching led to masterpieces and innovations by striving for quantity, deferring judgment, seeking new combinations and using imagination during ideation. When refining ideas, Da Vinci's approach was to use positive judgment first, consider novelty, stay focused, and be able to redirect himself if needed.

2. “Beyond this place
there be dragons.”

3. In Instanbul (1502)…

4. A Strange Request is Made

5. Golden Horn Bridge Sketch

6. Da Vinci Details the Design

7. Da Vinci’s Bridge to Nowhere

8. In 1991, It’s Built in Norway

9. Why Da Vinci?

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

13. My Friends and I run the Big Design Conference.

14. 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)

16. 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).

17. • Content

18. UX Sketch Books Published

19. 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

20. Sketch Software Released
• Sketch Flow • Basalmiq

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

22. Generate, Refine...Repeat
You use the creative and evaluate sides
of your brain in Design Studios.

23. Can Da Vinci Apply to UX?

24. Da Vinci’s
True Legacy

25. The Last Supper (1495-98)

26. Mona Lisa (1503-05)

27. Only 30 Finished Paintings

28. Sketches: Greatest Legacy

29. He Was a Prolific Sketcher
13,000
pages

30. 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

31. 6,000 Storyboards for Brave
Source: Mashable (2012)

32. Under a Painting is a Sketch

33. 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.

34. 5 Sketching Secrets

35. 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.

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

37. No iPad

38. No Field Notes/Moleskine
Bound pages are too constraining.

39. Separate Pages

43. 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.

44. 2. Do Initial Sketches Alone
Da Vinci dissected 10 cadavers for his
over 750 sketches on human anatomy.

45. Da Vinci Sketched Alone
He would initially sketch alone. Then, a
doctor reviewed for technical accuracy.

46. “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.

47. Two Artists, Same Interest
Da Vinci and Michaelangelo dissected
human cadavers—socially repugnant.

48. Sketch Alone

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

50. 3. Review with Others
Marcontonio della Torre reviewed the
human anatomy sketches for accuracy.

51. Reviewed by Generals
Da Vinci reviewed sketches of weapons
with generals and soldiers.

52. Review Together

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

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

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

56. 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.

57. Leonardo Lessons:
Sketches Need:
1. Picture
2. Description
3. Arrows
4. Annotations
5. Labels

58. 5. Save and Re-visit Later
Some scholars think Da Vinci used an
early form of the Cornell Method.

59. Da Vinci’s Shortcuts
Main Questions
content and
area Keywords
Summary Information

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

61. Grouped Weapon Sketches
Da Vinci drew these sketches at different
times, but they are grouped together.

62. Grouped Anatomy Sketches
Marcontonio della Torre wanted to publish
this work, but he died of the Black Death.

63. Technology Helps Us Group
Evernote Fireworks
Flickr Facebook

64. Revisit Later

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

66. Generating Ideas

67. 1. Strive for Quantity
2. Defer Judgment
3. Seek New Combinations
4. Use Your Imagination

68. 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.

69. 750 Anatomy Sketches

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

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

72. 2. Defer Judgment
“It is easier to resist
in the beginning
than at the end.”
- Da Vinci
Defer positive and
negative judgment.

73. Sketch of The Last Supper

74. Jesus and Judas Problems

75. Two Years Later…

76. EXCELLENT SUPER
SPECTACULAR
KILLER
NEAT
SWEET
COOL
AWESOME
BEST WOW
#1 YES

77. REJECT
DENIED
PAINFUL
NIX IT!
NOPE
WEAK
BLOWS
IT SUCKS!!!
BAD UGLY
#2 NO

78. 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.

79. 3. New Combinations
Da Vinci had a pet dragon.

80. 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.

81. •
Da Vinci always looked to put
things to another use.

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

83. 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.

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

86. Common Response Zone

87. Da Vinci’s Flying Machines

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

89. 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.

90. 1. Strive for Quantity
2. Defer Judgment
3. Seek New Combinations
4. Use Your Imagination

91. Refining Ideas

92. 1. Use Positive Judgment
2. Consider Novelty
3. Stay Focused
4. Redirect Yourself

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

94. 65,000 thoughts per day.
65% are negative, roughly 42,000.

95. He Struggled Personally

96. REJECT
DENIED
PAINFUL
NIX IT!
NOPE
WEAK
BLOWS
IT SUCKS!!!
BAD UGLY
#2 NO

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

98. 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

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

100. Pope Leo X Bans Autopsies
Da Vinci’s dissections
of cadavers was seen
as disgusting. It was
outlawed by the Pope.

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

102. 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.

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

104. Perfectionist & Procrastinator

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

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

107. A Death Bed Confession
“I have offended God
and mankind because
my work didn't reach
the quality it should
have.”
- Da Vinci

108. 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.

109. 4. Redirect Yourself

110. 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

111. 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.”

112. Borgia: Machiavelli’s Prince

113. Da Vinci Caught in Middle

115. Suffered Severe Trauma
Da Vinci had "a profound
psychological change . . .
as a result of his terrifying
experiences“ with Borgia.
source: Paul Strathern (2010)

116. Da Vinci Built Maps

117. Improved Borgia’s Fortress
It had rounded walls to counter the
direct impact of a cannonball. Interior
walls led to fortified positions.

118. Designed a Movable Bridge

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

120. Da Vinci Redirects His Work
Da Vinci gives Borgia
defensive items:
• Map of Milan
• Map of Imola
• Hedometer
• Movable Bridges
• Improved Ladder
• Fortress Redesign

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

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

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

124. 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.

125. Final Thoughts

126. 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.

127. • Content

128. 1. Strive for Quantity
2. Defer Judgment
3. Seek New Combinations
4. Use Your Imagination

129. 1. Use Positive Judgment
2. Consider Novelty
3. Stay Focused
4. Redirect Yourself

130. 1. Strive for Quantity 1. Use Positive Judgment
2. Defer Judgment 2. Consider Novelty
3. Seek New Combinations 3. Stay Focused
4. Use Your Imagination 4. Redirect Yourself