The fundamental necessity of the sketchpad process
This post has been kindly guest-authored by The Paper Bull (website currently offline).
As a reader of this design blog, I’ve always appreciated it when David shares his sketchpad with us and shows projects that are in development.
It’s a rare opportunity for us to watch and learn and in some cases let our ideas catalyze others. Anyone interested in creating an online presence, be it a business website or a personal blog; simply must have some quality designer sites on their reading list.
The sketchpad becomes an arena. This is the proving ground where an idea is batted around and subjected to the whim of the author. Random concepts collide with intentional thought. Suggestions are made. Some stick while others are tossed aside. Persistence prevails and eventually the concept develops structure and ultimately a finished identity.
Sometimes our natural tendency is to minimize or skip this important process altogether and we try and jump straight ahead to the finished product.
Bad idea.
The sweat equity that’s invested during the design stage is where a finished product earns its value. And this is true if you’re designing a corporate logo, copywriting or if you’re developing a business presentation. It’s not limited to artsy fartsy stuff.
I’ve worn many hats throughout my career including several stints in the music industry on TV, radio and CD’s. It’s a similar process to what I’ve described above although the mediums and arenas are slightly different.
I was thrilled to find this copy of Cream’s original manuscript for White Room for auction at Cooper Owen PLC. Read the commentary by Pete Brown and take note of the marginal notes where he’s still playing with different ideas.
Estimated auction price is $50-75,000 US.
Now, look me in the eye and tell me that the sketchpad process is not important.
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21 appreciated comments on “The fundamental necessity of the sketchpad process”
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Nice guest piece – and a nice article graphic too!
I’ll put my hand up and say that I don’t use a sketchbook as much as I probably should do – but it’s still a major part of my arsenal of tools when it comes to design.
There’s just something more flexible about beginning a design on paper than on a monitor!
Nice logo!
Very nice read, and so true. My own experience is that people who skip the sketchpad stage and immediately grasp to their computer programs (cad, illustrator, whatever) end up with more symetrical-’cube-like’ shapes. The sketchpad should be an integral part of any kind of design related education, at my shool this is not always the case…pitty.
I just like this because you said “artsy fartsy” heh
Paul,
I agree 100%. If you use a computer to begin the design process you are limiting your choice of outcome a great deal.
It’s much faster to record your thoughts through a pencil onto paper than via a mouse and dragging pixels back and forth.
Dries,
Ever thought about teaching at your school?
Of course, the ideal fusion of the two methods would be to use a decent quality graphics tablet!
Still, you can’t take one of them with you on the road – and if you did it wouldn’t be as compact as a sketchbook and pencil… ;)
Thanks for the comments thus far folks. David’s been an obliging host and I’ve certainly appreciated the opportunity to litter his site.
Let me extrapolate my own “design” and “sketchpad” processes which are in pop music and not visual arts.
Songs rarely arrive at the studio complete and with a full arrangement in place. That’s the norm for orchestral works but certainly not the case for mainstream pop. Here the artist brings their idea and presents it to the rest of the band in its simplest format. Usually on guitar and with single vocal.
Additions are made as it evolves and is interpreted by each musician.
Sometimes the slate’s wiped clean and the process is repeated in a different genre altogether. You’ve probably noticed instances where songs have been recorded by different artists and released w/ different arrangements in Top 40 and Country markets. Sometime simultaneously.
But the common belief still remains: if a song cannot exist on its own merit in its simplest form it’s rarely a good idea.
Tablet PCs are the best imo.. they allow you to sketch on screen so you can see what your really sketching!
I have yet to see someone so good with graphics tablets or any other digital device that they have the same freedom as they would with a pen and paper. Sketching, thick, thin, looking at different pages at the same time, skipping back and forth, tossing some pages away, jotting down, no wait, picking up the one I crumbled up. The tempo, freedom and dynamics is incomparable.
Another -major- reason to use freehand sketches, is the effect they have on the client. Most clients never realise that a digital ‘sketch’ really is a sketch. It’s – weird enough – too perfect. It’s too smooth and flawless compared to a fineliner sketch, so they will – consciously or subconsciously – think that there are less room for adjustments and changes than with a regular sketch.
Great that you’re bringing this up, though. Way too much focus on how-to-make-insane-abstracts-in-3dstudio, and way too little on the actual design process, the generation of ideas and the creative phase.
I will agree with the fact that sketches are of outmost importance in pre production. I believe that if you “mac it up” before you actually get a hold of your pencil/pen/markers and a piece of paper you are immediately constraining your creative ideas into the (e.x.) typefaces in your fonts directory and you will either reproduce a previous piece or you will settle for the typefaces closer to “Ar..” or something.
The sketch pad gives you the ability to have a fast and vast variety of idea, create doodles that might spring out an idea and of course can be used to create beautiful paper cranes trees or boats after use or to be filed and seem so cool at your library
so yes SKETCHPAD thumbs up!
i’ve just remembered when i’ve started out in the advertising company i work for.
i had a 2 week period of training during which i wasn’t allowed to use any computer. so i had to draw everything by hand.
the results were always interesting. and come to think of it… more creative in terms of forms used.
using the computer you tend to limit your creativity to fonts, color effects and stuff like that…
webee
[is a design blog]
sketching is the foundation of all design projects and takes up a lot of time…sadly it’s the part of the process that many clients don’t see or know about and they wonder why design costs so much…ideas for design, or any creative piece whether it’s a painting, a song, or architecture, has to be molded and shaped until it becomes what the creator thinks is the best form, and sketching is the part where most of this is done…sketching on photoshop or illustrator greatly limits the development of ideas.
Too much creative design these days is about “production”. The best paintings in history and a lot of the greatest commercial artwork ever done started with a sketch. Or as it’s more properly called, a study.
Good post PB.
I loved this article. For me, the sketch process unlocks my brain. I can stare at a computer screen for hours and nothing comes out right. I can sit with a sketch pad and come up with a multitude of ideas in the same amount of time. There is something about the physical connection of pencil to paper. My only wish was that my drawing skills were a little better. I do find that once I have a sketch on paper, I can translate it to computer so much easier.
design w/out a sketchpad? are you insane?! i NEED my sketchpad to dump my brain in one place and iron out thoughts, concepts and ideas. THEN the old computer comes out and the swearing begins as i try and get all those beautiful sketched curves through a CAD machine.
great article, BTW.
Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I’m sure The Paper Bull (guest author) is very appreciative.
hi david,
i came across this post tonight and wanted to know what your thoughts and your readers. I am a new to logo design and i am terrible at sketching.Sometimes most of my sketches is the same idea over and over again. See url to post below..
Kelton,
The more you practice sketching, the better you’ll get. Artistic skill isn’t a gift, but something to be learnt, so stick with it if you want to improve. For the link, please use the full web address — no tinyurls or tr.ims etc. Cheers.
hi david,
thanks for your response. I guess it all goes back to the old saying “practise makes perfect” which i continue to do everyday. Unfortunately i do not have the luxury of attending graphic design school so i have been trying to teach myself especially logo design which i have grown fondly of because of its challenge. your blog is a great source of information and inspiration. thanks again
ps sorry about the using tiny url
No worries, Kelton, and it’s great you find some use in my blog. For me, practice makes better, because no-one’s perfect.
“some” you are a very humble person which i can relate too. I visit your blog everyday cus its great source of information and for me, seeing your logo design process from s tart to finish is the best!!! Cant wait for you to compile all this usefull info into a book :-)