There’s something special about a hand drawn design

Posted by Will Ryles on 06/09/2012.

Every design we create starts out life being hand drawn on one of our drawing boards. Whether it's a bathroom, a piece of furniture or a new piece of marketing material, a flash of inspiration is often followed by a mad dash for a bit of paper and a pencil.

Yet even we would be the first one to admit that as yet one of our designs hasn't become as iconic as the coke bottle or as recognisable as a big brand like Volkswagen.

VW Design

The VW logo is simple and instantly recognisable.

Rather than needing some fancy computer it was hand crafted during an age when a pencil was mightier than the keyboard.

While computers are great, and of course we are using them right now, there seems to be a tendency by to use them to pass basic designs off as hard work.

In my mind hand drawn designs have more heart, more effort and even seem to be that little bit more intricate. Put simply, they are harder to fake.

Hand Drawn Gate Design

It takes a great amount of skill to be able to create something like this gate by hand without making a mistake.

I love the intricate detailing and the texture that pencil creates to give this piece the little bit of soul it would otherwise miss.

That doesn't mean truly great designs can't be made on computer.

I've seen some fantastic 3D images produced by some highly skilled designers over the past few years.

This 3D image just goes to show what can be created by a real computer expert like Eyelevel design.

Yet sadly with computer programs there will always be the opportunity for an amateur to turn their basic idea into a soulless design and pass themselves off as an expert.

Pen Design

But with pencil or pen the opportunity to mislead customers is so much smaller.

We don't just have opinions on hand drawn designs, we like all kinds of design like the iconic coke bottle and if you have time for a coffe we even have an opinion on the classic three piece suit we would love to share.

You can see more great hand drawn designs on our Pinterest page or through great designers like Joshua Bullock.

A couple of points: 1.) I love the use of CAD as a tool but am old enough to have been trained to draw with pencil on vellum, ink on vellum then ink on mylar (pin registration) and eventually CAD. I feel hand drawing is sensuous. It allows you to think about the big and small picture. It encourages flexibility and flow that just isn't achieved with a computer. It is like music versus noise. 2.) In the last 25 years I have found that many interns have only been exposed to the computer. I find the focus is much more about the small screen than the big picture. I have found the learning curve to a true understanding of three dimenions is often missed, and just as Escher was able to draw deceptively real illusion I find the computer creates a similar potential. 3.) Drawing by hand is a language that helps you and your clients express ideas, one idea leads to another and the best design is often achieved as a conversation.

Comment by Randy on 12th January 2013 at 12:12

During the last 35 years, with 17 of these Years worked within the Middle East, I always found that to be able to produce sketch designs and details was greatly appreciated. These days the art of producing a free hand sketch or detail appears to have been lost within many of the architectal offices I have had the privaledge of working with. Producing an idea and free hand sketching was faster than trying to set up a CAD file. The Auto Cad files can be produced once the basic principles and parameters have been established during a meeting. If you know what you are doing then details can be drawn swiftly and save on the time needed to recover files from the computer and then having to modify them. Translation of a clients intentions can be shown within a few minutes and form the basis of the Aide Memoir to pass onto a draughtsman. I do however agree that CAd is useful when endeavouring to discover the moments of Inertia or drawings are at a stage when they are being reviewed and modified.There is a time and place for CAD and I for one do not believe that it serves when sitting with a client, architect or owner, in an early design meeting.

Comment by michael Walker on 24th January 2013 at 08:08

There’s something special about a hand drawn design

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