Last week, I shared a framework on distilling ideas from verbal to visual, and I casually challenged you to sketch out something you’ve found hard to explain.

I didn’t expect anyone to send theirs my way.

But Lightbulber Leslie Forman did!

Leslie is a UX research consultant, advanced workshop facilitator, and an adjunct professor of design at California College of the Arts.

She sent me this Headshot-style sketch that she made for her students that maps out the flow of her course this semester.

Now, Leslie created this long before I shared my headshot rubric yesterday, but I have to say, it nails all four traits:

• Instant: ~2-3 seconds and you grasp the shape of the course
• Memorable: the hand-drawn aesthetic, and the ‘loops’ for prototyping sear in your mind
• Replicable: a student could re-draw this from memory (even if they forget some of the deliverables)
• Sticky: it becomes a mental wayfinder the student will refer back to all semester

​

All-in-all, this beats a 3-page written syllabus, right?

​

The added beauty here is that these don’t need to be glossy and manicured to do the job.

This one works because it’s a sketch, not in spite of it.

You just have to muster the guts to draw it out.

​

Got something you’re struggling to communicate?

A misconception in your domain?

Your answer to a frequently asked question?

A framework on the brink of making it onto the page?

​

Take a crack at it, hand-drawn or digital, and send it to me.

I’d be happy to offer feedback.

(And I won’t share it unless you say so.)

​

💡

-Wes

​

P.S. One June start date left to build your Headshot portfolio together

Details here. Book a free chat to discuss if it's the right fit.

No hard sell, ever.