the sketch rather than the instantly obtained photograph
is the means to this awareness.
It is said that in our modern world we now produce
more photographs than bricks. For the first time in history
the visual image has become more prevalent than the
means of making houses. The lesson concerns the
importance of design and appearance in contemporary
society. But photographs are not always the most
appropriate medium for expressing this visual concern.
There are times, and subjects, which lend themselves to
graphic analysis, rather than pictorial description. This
book has the aim of reviving the sketchbook tradition, in
order to create a visually literate society. The objective of
education is to achieve not just literacy and numeracy, but
graphic, visual and spatial skills. Our success as an
industrial society requires this; and so do we, whether as
designers or as individuals.
If this book encourages people – professional
designers or otherwise – to explore the environment
round about them with sketchbook and pencil (as against
camera) in hand, then a useful beginning would have
been made. There are always subjects to learn from,
whether we choose to live in city, suburb or countryside.
This book takes themes based upon everyday experience,
and seeks to draw design lessons from them. Once we
have learnt the language of drawing and graphic analysis,
we are then in a position to engage in the complex
business of design. For the first time in history design
involves us all and has permeated through to every aspect
of our lives. If we ignore the language of design, we will
be as disadvantaged as those who finish school without
the basic skills of literacy and numeracy. No single book
can teach us how to learn through drawing, but it can
point us in the right direction and open our eyes to the
benefit of good design.
TYPES OF DRAWING
To the architect and urban designer there are three main
types of freehand drawing. The first is the elaborate
perspective drawing used to communicate design ideas
to clients or planning authorities. Increasingly this type of
drawing is produced by computer. The second type
concerns the production of sketch perspectives and
views used to communicate design ideas to specialists
such as engineers, and sometimes to help clarify points
for the designer’s own benefit. This type of drawing can
be split into:- the investigation of an early design;
- exploring methods of construction;
- testing the visual effect of details;
- setting the design in its physical context.
The third type of freehand drawing concerns the
exploration of the existing world, its buildings, details and
landscapes. The use of drawing in this regard does not
just provide a repertoire of forms and designs to use in
developing new structures, but helps cultivate a
sensitivity towards the existing context in which
architects, planners and landscape architects are
increasingly required to work.
Of these three broad categories of drawing, this book
focuses upon the latter. With a growing awareness of the
cultural and aesthetic values of cities, and with the
European Community requiring ever-higher standards of
urban design, those in the environmental professions face
new challenges.
The general public, too, are better informed and
through local amenity societies and bodies like the
National Trust make their views known on an
unprecedented scale. The widening of education to
embrace design and technology (under the national
curriculum reforms of 1990) promises to focus yet moreThe benefits of drawing 9