Sketches

Sketches aren't about drawing skills and fine art, they're about communication and visual thinking. Some may be rough, back of the napkin or whiteboard, others may be polished in Illustrator. The point isn't to impress people with drawing but to communicate ideas.

Sketching is an important part of my work because I don't mind if it's not pretty, as long as you understand what I'm trying to say.

Pen & Paper

If nothing else, just grabbing a pen or Sharpie and using them to think through a problem isn't just a way to make your ideas concrete, it's also pretty fun and better than staring at a screen all day.

Diagrams

Using diagrams to show the relationships between entities and users is a great way to sketch out a concept or initial workflow.

Whiteboard

Whiteboarding is an extremely important part of the process because it allows for quick thinking and communicating thoughts with teammates. Whiteboards are also such a temporary medium that no one gets attached to their own design. Erasing, editing, and re-drawing are easy which makes it great for iterating.