National Conference on the Beginning Design Student

NCBDS - I recently returned from an amazing design conference held at Penn State. The creativity and advanced technologies that were utilized in beginning design studios was incredible. Perhaps most reassuring were the discussions I had with fellow design educators about the importance of hand sketching - decidely a low-tech operation. Those I spoke with agreed that not only does the act of sketching engage the hand and mind, but we agreed on three important reasons to draw by hand from observation.
1. Understanding - by drawing something you must look carefully and come to understand a thing's components and even its meaning.
2. Thinking - drawing is a visual expression of thought, a way to more concretely test new ideas and their validity - I say its speaking with a pencil.
3. Persuading - in design, it is not only important to develop an idea and make it real, but you must be able to convince others about the quality and worth of your proposed space. You can use the various forms of representational drawings as the means to explain spatial concepts.