To Sketch or Not to Sketch?
Conceptual design sketches for Benning Public Library, Washington, DC
TO SKETCH OR NOT TO SKETCH:
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
GUEST BLOGGER, KRISTEN PERSINOS • MARCH 2019
As the hunter and gatherer of all marketing collateral here at Spacesmith, I try to begin my quest for project data at the start of the process. Yes, every project has a story to be told, and I am hungry for all the imagery and statistics that support its narrative. I need this information for brochures, proposals, presentations, press, newsletters, our website, social media, awards ... you get the picture. I am bound by duty to show off our excellent designers’ mad skills. I am always pestering (perhaps encouraging is the better word) people to share sketches, to take “before” photos at the job site, or to let me crash design charrettes for action shots. If I walk by a materials meeting, I am that person who says, “Oh, what’s that? Can I take a photo of that?” It’s a dirty job, but hey…I am mining for gold.
Ideally, the best story lines begin with the design inspiration, and lead step by step to a finished product. I find myself getting particularly excited by hand sketches. How satisfying is it to see a sketch of an idea turn into a featured element or, say, an auditorium or building?
Spacesmith Partner Marc Gordon’s sketch of a detail for the Brooklyn Pop-up Pool, designed Davis Brody Bond and Spacesmith. Completed project below.
Design development sketch for a soundproof huddle room at Sony RED Distribution (completed room at right).
Davis Brody Bond Partner Christopher Grabé’s watercolor sketches for an in-house design charrette envisioning options for Pier 36, NYC.
In this digital age, I wondered how much time our designers are getting to spend with pencils and paper. Has sketching lost some of its cache since computer modeling hit the industry?
It seems the obvious rings true. Those who are more senior designers did not study computer drafting in college. That we knew. But it looks like sketching got equal if not more attention in college for all ages, which is good in my opinion, and the majority of designers still incorporate it in their process. It is not a dying art.
So, to sketch or not to sketch? I say SKETCH! Find time to sketch and please…share with your marketing director.