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Presto Sketching

A book to help you think and communicate better with drawing

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For designers and researchers

Draw more creatively with FLARE

If you want to find ways to draw topics more creatively, or you feel like you’re in a bit of a rut drawing things the same way all the time, then the FLARE prompts are for you. How do you draw a person? Or a building? Or a tree? There are lots of ways to […]

A picture of a set of hand-drawn icons for use in service design projects

Volume 2 of Journey Mapping Icons out now!

I’ve just released a second volume of journey mapping sketched icons, containing 120 more icons. All images are in 300dpi PNG format, with transparent backgrounds, available for you to use in any way you like. You’ll find some additions to existing categories found in the Volume 1 set of icons, including expressions, people, devices, technology, […]

How to construct a great story

As I’ve written about before (and in my Presto Sketching book!), storyboards give you great bang for buck when you want clarity and direction in any project, especially for product and service design. Here’s how to construct the most essential ingredient: the story itself. Storyboards can guide you and your team from problem to solution […]

Why your project needs storyboarding

There’s that fantastic time in any product or service design project where an idea is just starting to take shape, and spread its wings. Will it be The Next Big Thing? Will it be able to stand up to the barrage of oncoming questions, like: will it resonate with your target audience? How will it […]

Discover how your customers tick with the Decision Factors sketch

It can be really hard getting a handle on what factors affect your customers’ decisions, or how to get buy-in from your stakeholders. The Decision Factors sketch can make it easier. Think of the last time you made a big purchase. What was that like for you? Did you weigh up pros and cons? Was […]

More posts

Mapping your user’s day with the User Clock Sketch

See your user’s experience of their day through their eyes with the User Clock Sketch. The power of mapping user experiences Are you involved in making products and services for customers and communities? If so, you’ll know how important it is to make sure your offering matches what they need. A standard way of connecting user research to making products […]

Better visual brainstorming with the Concept Canvas

Making big decisions about which idea or option to invest in amongst a group is really hard. Using the Concept Canvas to visually compare apples to apples makes it a bit easier (includes free PDF). I was in a brainstorming session from hell once. I was part of a team to help a telecommunications company […]

Solve the right problem with the Problem Pyramid

Get clarity on a problem to be solved – either by yourself or as a team – by exploring it, reframing it and articulating it in a more insightful way using this simple visual pattern. Ambiguity and confusion? You probably don’t have a proper problem statement Have you ever had those times where you’re lying awake […]

Fun emoji facts

Emoji number plates?! Level up your emoji mojo with these 15 nuggets of tasty tips, tricks and trivia about our favourite adorable little pictures. To state the bleeding obvious, emoji are a thing. In a BIG way. Regular Presto Sketching newsletter readers might know that I have a soft spot for emoji. They’re an amazing, fun […]

Nail your product strategy with the Product Pyramid

Features! Story points! Sprints! UIs! It’s all too easy to let the detail of product management drown out the actual product strategy. The Product Pyramid can help. Strategy is a tricky game. The more complicated the product(s), service(s) and business(es), and the more people involved, the trickier things get. Trying to get shared understanding about […]

Use the Product Box sketch to improve any product or service

Here’s a simple visual framework you can use by yourself or with a team to help you clarify the value and benefits of your product, service, or even yourself.

Amaze your team mates with radar charts

Radar charts are the forgotten tool in the data visualisation toolbox; here are some ideas to put it to use today.

Get your problems all MOPT up with this problem-solving method

In the last post, we looked at an easy way to sketch out various aspects of a problem, according to three parts: These three lenses give us a more structured way to approach and better understand a problem space. Step 1: look for clues So where does the MOPT come in? I’ll get to that. […]

Here are 4 lines to help you understand any problem

Spend some time sketching up your problem space in terms of its three parts: rational, emotional and political.

Make your transformation happen with the Superhero Booth visual framework

Get clear on how to turn into the ‘Super You’ with this Superhero Booth visual framework. Oh, and it works for customers and teams, too.

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Recent Posts

  • How AI visualises company visions: the latest
  • Draw more creatively with FLARE
  • How adding a graphic recorder to your event makes it a game changer
  • Volume 2 of Journey Mapping Icons out now!
  • How to construct a great story

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Also by Ben Crothers

Cover of the book Draw in 4 by Ben Crothers

Cover of the book 50 Remote-Friendly Icebreakers by Ben Crothers

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© 2026 Ben Crothers, author of Presto Sketching - a book to help you think and communicate better with drawing.