Why hand-drawing matters

Lloyd’s of London by Richard Rogers

As a tool for communication, hand-drawing is difficult to replace. It is as old as architecture itself. Palladio, Michelangelo, Le Corbusier, Richard Rogers… every generation used sketching as an effective way of explaining spatial relationships and showing how ideas evolved.

Even today, in the 21st century, hand-drawing is still the best way to start downloading ideas onto a paper.

Here is why:

Expression.  

Drawing is an innate human activity, as vital to learning, thinking and communicating as it is to artistic expression. It boosts the creative process by generating a delicate relationship between brain, eye and hand. The channel is then prepared to let ideas flow smoothly through an intuitive process, not as fluent when it‘s mediated by computer. Sketches bring warmth and life to the projects and both creator and observer can “feel the strokes”.

Minnesota Twins - Charrette by Daniel Bartle, Lucid Arts

Communication.

Sketches speak louder than words, they are unique pieces of art that bring a sense of personality to a design. Clients can easily understand the ideas too because sketches are brief and concise, they filter the information we need to communicate.

Collserola Tower by Norman Foster

Thinking.

Finally, one of the most fundamental reasons why designers draw is simply to help them to see what’s in front of them. There is no quicker method for exploring multiple visual solutions than sketching though. A single flick can reflect the right moment when an idea is born.