I came across this post today on 37Signals.com about sketching with a thick Sharpie marker. The gist of it is the thicker the marker, the less you’ll be able to write down notes and such. And the less you do that, the more you focus on the big picture now and worry about the little details later.

Among the many laments about Sharpies smelling and bleeding through sheets of paper (not to mention potentially staining the table top), I stumbled upon a reader’s suggestion of using crayons as an alternative. As the commenter writes, crayons are really cheap, come in many colours and don’t smell much. Best of all, they bring out a tendency to feel like a kid again and get creative.

That last part, in my opinion is the best part. Letting your mind free as you play around with the best way to display information, create a UI, or whatever it is you’re scheming.