The hand continues to move the idea."

Barry Berkus, an American architect, author and art collector known for having designed more than 600,000 houses, says, it is all about how essential sketching and drawings are when it comes to communicating." Wonderfully put, this one line actually speaks volumes of how one can bring life to ideas that are otherwise randomly playing in one’s mind and mould concepts in a way that others can understand. Sketching and drawings are a reflection of one’s thought process that helps combine thoughts with reality. It is no surprise that even an old English language adage goes as

A picture is worth a thousand words."

Ideas are formed where sketches form the skeleton, on which complex detailed drawing can be later developed. Besides this, many medical studies and art guru’s would even vet the idea that sketches are also one of the best mediums to help information stick to one’s mind.

Drawing makes you see things clearer and clearer and clearer still. The image is physiologically passing through you, into your brain, into your memory – where it stays – it’s transmitted by your hands." – Martin Gayford.

Be it for communicating ideas, demonstrating functionality, or visualising the user flow, sketching is the way to go.

Days of yore in art and sketching

The Oxford dictionary defines art as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." With diverse ways in which art can be classified, such as under fine arts, like those featuring in DeviantArt, applied arts, or different basis media used, sketching and drawing is just one small figment of art under the larger purview of art itself. Since it is the oldest forms of communication used by mankind, it is complicated to highlight when art originated. However, for convenience, art today is often told based on the chronology of masterpieces created by various masters under different civilisations and dynasties. Sketching and drawings are extensively used in multiple professions worldwide; designing is a discipline that uses sketching and drawings broadly.

What is sketching in design?

Oxford dictionary defines sketching as ‘make a rough drawing of’ and ‘give a brief account or general outline of something’. Sketching in design helps us

• Create a rough outline of the ideas that the client wishes to see in his/her project.
• Interprets the client’s needs on a piece of paper as perceived by the designer.
• Serve as a reminder to the designer on the clients’ needs and help clients comprehend the design.

This distinctive form of drawing and sketching is used by designers to advance, explore, refine, communicate ideas plus to identify and tackle any design problems they may encounter in the process.

Now that we have answered the fundamental question of what is sketching in design out of our way, here are my understandings of why design sketches will always remain one of the most potent arsenals in an architect’s and designer’s armoury.

Why are sketches being used by designers even today?

Sketching gives wings to ideas:

One would be surprised at the readiness with which designers give shape to their ideas. Only by adopting a pen and paper to scrawl all the basic concepts that come to their mind will undoubtedly feel liberated and allow one’s mind and creativity to travel to places they would have never imagined.

Drawing is an exercise for a restless imagination." – Tim Burton.

An idea that plays in one’s restless mind is only the beginning. Creating that would help one get it out of mind within a few seconds. It also helps generate more ideas in mind, which further refines the initial idea until one reaches a space where one finds the ideal design. With very little time required to sketch an idea on paper and refine the same idea through multiple sketches makes sketches a preferred medium for brainstorming sessions. One can simply fall in love with the concept of Thinking via your sketches."

Sketches help save time:

Not all surprises and mysteries are well received, especially when it comes to a paying client of a design project. Thus, it is no surprise that many of the world’s best architects and designers prefer to involve their clients in the entire life cycle of designing. This not only helps build the client’s confidence in the designer’s work and the output, but it also helps in course correction as and when needed in any stage of designing. With the ability to quickly put ideas on paper through sketches, designers can check with their clients if their work is desired. Additionally, the designer can do quick course corrections through revised drawings.

With clients, it is essential to show the effort put in while designing:

Design is a continuous process, and the more you work on it, the more it evolves. It takes time to create a masterpiece, and it really does pay to showcase the efforts that have gone into creating the design for a client. Sketches are the only way one can highlight the steps that have gone into the making of designs.

Love a design you see, record it in your scrapbook through sketches for future references:

Any art needs inspiration, designing being no exception to this. A practice being followed by designers and architects world over for ages is to record any design they loved on a scrapbook through rough sketches, which are later used for inspiration while working on newer plans and drawings.

How are Sketches being used by Designers?

Among all the tools architects and designers use, sketching is one of the oldest and a powerful tool. Whether to design a building, create machinery or even a product design, these sketches come in handy across all the stages of a product’s lifecycle. The sketching journey begins right from when a designer is commissioned for creating the product till the end; the design sketches of the product contribute immensely.

Stage 1

The drawings form a visual representation of the designer’s ideas explaining to the client how the designer visualises the project. Drawings and sketches help both the client and the designer understand each other’s perspective visually, and they can then make iterations to the same until they come to a final design.

Stage 2

A project is never a one-man show. It requires an entire team to work on the project in small parts and complete a final project. Once the initial sketches are signed off by the client, the designer can then use them as a medium of communication for the team and pass instructions. The team then creates sketches that can then be passed on to the third parties to execute.

Stage 3

These sketches and drawings are then passed on to the third parties, who understand these drawings and the illustrations, procure materials, understand how the materials need to be cut before they get assembled and shipped.

Stage 4

Once the materials are procured, cut, and shipped to the installation site, the engineers repeatedly refer to these detailed sketches or drawings for the installation and understand the layout and later maintain them at the site.

Stage 5

Even when the product reaches the end of its life, the designs further help identify which parts can be reused, which can be recycled and which parts can be used for landfills, etc.

With the utility that sketches and drawings offer to design and architecture, these are the must-have skill for any budding designer who wishes to make a career in this field. If still in doubt on why is sketching the most vital medium of communication, these words from one of the most splendid architects – Le Corbusier, should settle all doubts.

I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster and leaves less room for lies."