This has always been the best part of product design.
The initial sketch.
But I've been the harshest self-critic of its value in today’s rapidly digitized and optimized workflow. Is it necessary? Is it efficient? Can the same thing be done faster another way? Can I really justify the time it takes?
Maybe.
Speaking for myself, this is where the best thinking happens.
The conscious/subconscious flow between thought and hand—between what is and what could be.
A page like this looks rough because it is rough. But buried in it are thousands of hours spent learning to draw, see proportion, understand construction and materials, solve problems, develop taste, and eventually translate an idea in your head into something a customer will actually use.
There is something deeply satisfying about starting with a blank sheet of paper and, through experience, pencil, marker and thought, turning an idea into something real.
It still has value to me. But I’m genuinely curious—is sketching still an essential part of product design, or has it become a craft we hold onto because we love doing it?
The initial sketch.
But I've been the harshest self-critic of its value in today’s rapidly digitized and optimized workflow. Is it necessary? Is it efficient? Can the same thing be done faster another way? Can I really justify the time it takes?
Maybe.
Speaking for myself, this is where the best thinking happens.
The conscious/subconscious flow between thought and hand—between what is and what could be.
A page like this looks rough because it is rough. But buried in it are thousands of hours spent learning to draw, see proportion, understand construction and materials, solve problems, develop taste, and eventually translate an idea in your head into something a customer will actually use.
There is something deeply satisfying about starting with a blank sheet of paper and, through experience, pencil, marker and thought, turning an idea into something real.
It still has value to me. But I’m genuinely curious—is sketching still an essential part of product design, or has it become a craft we hold onto because we love doing it?