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Questioning the Cult of the Sketch
I think it partly depends on what you are designing. Sneakers, that are influenced by fashion trends, naturally need to be sketched well. But what about, for instance, a bicycle? The color & graphics need to be rendered accurately but who is going to spend hours lovingly sketching all those other peoples components (ever tried sketching a spoked wheel?). I design baby strollers where the innovation and design are largely invisible. No body is going to get excited about my sketches of a geared latching mechanism.
A designer who can't sketch is like a journalist who {has bad penmanship}.....like George Orwell, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.K. Rowling, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway <he was drunk so not really a skill issue>, Vladimir Nabokov, Jane Austen, Franz Kafka, Lewis Carroll <drugs?>, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Walt Whitman.
I'm an interaction designer (by way of graphic design) so I can only speak to my own media here, but I believe the focus on "beauty" in a sketch completely misses the whole point of a sketch: exploration and communication. It also misses the very broad category of things that are not drawings that do the work of a sketch. Granted, my sketches are much more like those Eames sketches above than the gorgeous sketches I see on Core77 regularly, but I've never had someone in my 18 years complain that my sketches weren't pretty enough, just when they're not communicating my idea clearly. The stuff I work on now is also heavily influenced by time, and I've found myself writing almost as much as drawing to try and really convey these activities that are unfolding not just in a (most of the time) 2D interface, but also across time. Writing, along with drawing, is a core design skill.
I ruined both my arms part way through my degree and just simply can't hold a pen or pencil in any meaningful way without cramping anymore. My tutors, lecturers and the studios I talked to were all as quality sketch crazy as those in this article, and now I've finished my degree I don even feel like I can contemplate using it professionally in this current marketplace.
To me sketching is like a 'right brain' exercise.
And first step in making an idea become real... is a good doodle.
There's a reason cave drawings came before written word. Sketching is efficient and easily understood compared to other methods of getting the point across to a team or clients.
According to an Industrial Designer, sketching skills (which she lacks) are not required to design. Perhaps not always, though I would bet she's made use of someone else's skill on more than one occasion... especially in her presentations. Unless they are designed to induce sleep, successful presentations require graphics, as most people are not able to visualize during the conceptual design stage without them. Even people with excellent reading skills grasp a concept more quickly with visuals-and they are not forced to choose between reading or listening during a presentation.
Also, the article is very well written. Before putting down someone else's opinion, rereading the article might prove wise. I think the author presented the issues objectively, dispassionately, and comprehensively. They are very clearly stated without any objectionable bias. Well done, Mr. Alviani!
I see your point, but you are arguing for setting people up for failure by saying they don't need to draw well. If you draw well you will more then likely find work if you don't draw well who knows. I personally believe sketching is more important then ever. The reason, in a world were things move very fast. The fastest way to generate concepts that people will connect with is sketching. Nothing is faster. The better you are the faster the idea will come and it will be more appealing. But I agree sketching is but one tool. But it is a tool that really only a designer does it makes us different from an engineer. In my professional work I show sketches for about 1/8 of a presentation on a new product. The rest is story. Everything else in the presentation could have been made by anyone. The sketches are what makes it my design presentation. They are cumulation of all the previous info and arguable the swaying aspect of the presentation. Sketches are worth money for not only the fact they show the design before anything else could have been made but also they show the embodiment of all the research and thought that went into the design.