The Pareto Principle of Sketching

How to get the most bang for your buck with sketching.

The 80/20 Rule

For those who don’t know the Pareto Principle, it essentially means that 80% of outcomes usually come as a result of 20% of the effort.

That begs the question though. What is that 80% in sketching? I’d argue that it’s two main goals.

1. Communication. Or,
2. Make a sketch look as pretty as possible

Line Weight Is Most Important

Since we’re product designers, the former is really the most important one. But that doesn’t mean sketches that communicate can’t look pretty as well. So if we were to combine both goals, I suspect that successfully incorporating line weight is the 20% that gives us the most bang for our buck. It’s responsible for:

1. Guiding the viewer’s eye
2. Grounding the sketch in reality
3. Covering up mistakes
4. Creating a main focal point to communicate some detail about form
5. Creating contrast that’s visually pleasing

For a more detailed description of those things, I have an article on the importance of using line weight.