Seeing Through the Hand: Why Drawing Remains Relevant in the Design Process
Alex Fernández
Concept Sketch, Syracuse University, S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Renovation
Drawing. We’ve all done it. So why is it the exception not the norm in design today. Architecture and design schools have, for the most part, stopped teaching hand drawing, so students don’t regard it as an integral part of the thinking process. Now that computers can create just about any virtual and real-looking environment, drawing is perceived as old-fashioned and slow. Contemporary culture pushes us to celebrate the newest approaches and the latest and greatest gadgets, devices and software. This is unfortunate, because while drawing currently resides on the “out” list, it should be a go-to tool for all designers. Instead it’s become the refuge of senior designers like me, who still appreciate drawing’s capacity to incite creative thinking and engender high levels of understanding.
