Saturday, February 27, 2010

Don't skip the sketch


I feel that designers are getting too comfortable with Photoshop or other design software and are skipping the most important part of ANY design. Sketching! As soon as you start pixel pushing you are limiting your conceptual creativity and brainstorming part of the process.

Quick sketches, mind maps, mood boards, are a crucial part of any design process. It's where you think of all possibilities for a given amount of time and jot down all the ideas your brain can think of. Sometimes I grab my sketchbook and go for a walk. Maybe I'll see something that sparks an idea. At the end you can rest assure that you got some good thoughts.

I like to draw as many sketches as possible. I then close my sketch book, get some coffee or go for a walk and then open it up and revisit what I drew. I look through my sketches with a vague mind, and see which one makes the most sense , which one tells the story best. I also show it to different people to see what they get of it.

Next step is moving on to my chosen design program where I'm more focused on detail such as color, contrast, lighting etc.

Remember, computer software is just a tool, like a paint brush or pencil. Good traditional skills are very important. Sketch sketch sketch

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