In an age full of quick prototyping tools, it’s quite easy to find yourself using your laptop, tablet, or even phone to show a client a potential idea or interaction. Screens can be whipped up in seconds using any one of the many tools out there — Illustrator, InVision, Marvel, and Balsamiq to name a few — but is this the best method?

Recently we’ve begun to use a sketchbook to get these quick ideas across when meeting face to face. There’s something truly effective about watching someone draw an idea rather than seeing just the final product/screen. That Point A to Point B mentality has intrinsic clarity to it. It mimics how we think. Sketching how a user would work through the app works in parallel to someone trying to map it out in their brain. The physical sketchbook grounds the experience, and it becomes the sole focus. On a screen, there’s plenty more to look at and distract you. One flick of the wrist and you can be staring at a completely different screen. With a sketchbook, every line drawn has a purpose, melding together with the rest of the sketch to formulate an idea. It doesn’t just “appear” — it’s created. Talking through a sketch while it is being created also feels like a lesson to be learned. We were all taught using this method. Hands-on helps dissolve confusion, because you process the act as it happens. It’s a linear experience for both the sketcher and the observer.