Graphic Designers have a great set of design tools when using graphic design software with today’s powerful computers. The ability to create complex graphics or quickly produce a design was impossible only 25 years ago under traditional mediums of paste-up. We now have the ability to come up with an idea, execute and complete it within a matter of minutes, literally.
There’s a downside to all this technological prowess we possess. The temptation has been to do everything on the computer, coming up with ideas that look somewhat finished. Sure, it can provide a client with polished ideas that can sell them on what a design will actually look like.
But does that provide you and your client with the BEST creative ideas?
The Limitations Computers Put On Creativity
Will all the great software programs and tools we possess, the idea of using a pencil and paper can at first feel quite backwards. “This is old-school, we’re advanced now. We don’t need this. We’ve got [insert software title].” After all, using real fonts, trying different colors and making it look finished is what’s important, right? True, but have you noticed the time it takes to come up with “finished” ideas? Working in this manner can produce “real” ideas. But they can take a lot of time. The benefit of sketching with pencil is that you can come with more real “ideas”.
More Ideas in a Short Time
Sketching ideas with a pencil focuses more on the concept than on the actual polished fonts and colors. By sketching out a quick concept on paper, you can see other options and sketch them out immediately. Ideas can give birth to more ideas, and soon you can have a lot of concepts to work with…and a greater chance of a great design.
Find Out Sooner If An Idea Won’t Work
Another benefit of sketching ideas versus creating them on the computer is that you can find out right away if an idea won’t work. Your mind can think of a neat concept, but time spent immediately on a computer and determining after a while that a concept won’t work might be better figured out in a few moments on paper. Sketching can free you of ideas that won’t work so you can focus on other ideas that will work.
A Library of Ideas for Other Projects
A sketchbook full of ideas can be a great resource for future work. If you have more ideas available, you can keep them on hand for other projects. Maybe a neat concept wasn’t used for this particular project, but it might be used as part of another project.
Pencil 2.0
So dust off that pencil you used in grade school. Who knows? You might find that your favorite piece of design hardware is a sketchbook and No. 2 pencil!
David Borrink - David Borrink is a graphic designer who lives in Rockford, Michigan and is a partner with his wife in their design and writing business, ...
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