Ask HN: Drawing/Drafting learning resources for devs?
I'm looking for suggestions of books, online courses, etc to improve my non-written, visual communications skills for software.
I'm looking for help in two areas -- first, my handwriting is terrible and, even though I'm specifically not asking about writing here, my poor handwriting also affects my attempts to sketch and diagram. How does one go about fixing bad technique here?
Second, I'm looking for guides on _types_ of visual communication around software. I'm familiar with UML, and I do my fair share of sketching high level architectural components, but just as there are different kinds of maps for different purposes (road maps, topo maps, etc), I'm realizing my toolbox for visual representations of software systems is lacking.
In a nutshell, I'm feeling I'm not as effective in visually representing software systems as I could be - both when I myself am the audience and am just trying to understand a system, and when I'm proposing or explaining systems to others.
For visual communication, I would suggest you giving Sketchnotes [1] a try. Definitely for formal communication of your software design, you will have to opt for those dull and dry diagrams, which I would add to an appendix.
As for handwriting, I think just practice everyday, write as much as you can. There are many workbooks that you can buy to do so, but nothing beats practice everyday. Before you start, it will be good to revisit your decision: cursive vs non cursive. And if you keep analog notebooks for your notes, to-dos etc, that will help you consistently practice.
Good luck!
[1] http://rohdesign.com
Thx!