Sketching: Approaching the Paper with Purpose by Paul Backett

This sketch exploration by Ziba designer Sam Amis shows a broad, rapid exploration of gestures for a snowboard-carrying backpack.

This is the third post in a 6-part series from Ziba's Industrial Design Director, Paul Backett, on rethinking design education. Read the Introduction to the series, Teach Less, Integrate More here.

Every design school teaches the mechanics of sketching: line, volume, perspective, shading and so on. But when it comes to project work, most fail to teach students to sketch with purpose. This makes all the other exercise pointless. All too often I see sketches that look fine, but when I ask, "Why did you choose that form?" I get a shrug. As with research, students often see sketching as a step to complete, rather than a tool to be used throughout the design process. More...