Hi Kevin,
Thank you for the detailed reply!
Very much appreciate it.
I used to teach in Chicago. I taught at Wheaton College and Harrington College of Design. I loved it.
I also used to be a member of the STA (Society of Typographic Arts) and met a lot of great people there. Maybe we have some people in common? Jack Weiss, Joseph Michael Essex?
You mentioned that it may not be worthwhile to spend time on the history of sketching? I understand the concern but it is something I would like to learn about. Both personally and for the purposes of the book I am writing. There is a chapter on it. I realize it may not need to be lengthy but I believe that understanding the foundation of something does help with its practice. I mean this is partly why we know art history and its beginnings. It helps us remember that visual abstractions are an important part of our mental processes and it helps establish precedent, especially for skeptics who may devalue the importance of the study of art and design.
The other question you asked was about my audience. The book is intended, after much conversation with my publisher, for professors and yes students too. I believe that while some may not be as interested, there will be some who will want to learn the theory and context of why we sketch. I find it fascinating that students, especially beginning students, sketch for pleasure or doodle as a way to think on their own or just because. But, often, not always, but often they resist sketching for a project in class or an assignment wanting to skip the preparatory process to jump in the computer and come up with something. I have found that if I take time to explain why this is important and sometimes add a bit of historical information, they are less resistant. They still groan but they do it less.
I came to design later in life. I had been a Jr. High School educator for 5 years. I was, of course, behind, on the design curve. Very behind. Moreover, computer programs were a foreign land to me. Talking to the computer became a favorite thing to do. But two things I understood from the get go, research and sketching. It made sense to me. I could research and sketch and sketch. I started to understand the nuances and the intangibles of design. Critiques did not help as much. It was that process of sketching something in many ways that helped me grow in my understanding. But even back then I wondered how did this come about? What if anything, does cave paintings have to do with sketching as a thinking tool, a playground, a sandbox if you will, for designers. Since then I carry a notebook everywhere I go. I am digressing perhaps.
I have accumulated some information about sketching as a thinking tool but not enough on its evolution and history. So, I was hoping to find some directions and I have thanks to you and everybody else. I had learned about the myth of the maiden who wished to keep a trace of her lover before he went to war. And I had also learned about the influence of ship building in the development of sculptured surfaces drawings or lines curving simultaneously in two directions. This piece of information is what got me thinking that the history of sketching as a problem solving tool was probably richer than we suspect. Add to that, the influence of math and science graphs, dance notation, music notation, and I think there is an interesting case to be made for sketching beyond design, for sketching as a tool to see and observe and be taught as Jonathan Fish and Nigel Cross state in their writings.
In short this is partly why I am interested in the history. :-) Thank you for the resources and the discussion. :-)
Alma
Alma Hoffmann
Assistant Professor
VAB 348
501 North University Blvd
Department of Visual Arts
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL 36688
p. 251-461-1437
> On Jan 12, 2018, at 1:36 PM, Henry, Kevin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hi Alma
>
>
> You've been getting a lot of great response (some of which I still need to read). This is good to see. I just wanted to add a few comments from my research for a book devoted to drawing for designers (Drawing for Product Designers). I am actually working on the second edition which will include more of the 'low fidelity' end of the visualization spectrum from mapping and diagramming to wireframing, storyboarding, and sketchnoting. Like so many technologies, ideational sketching does not emerge fully formed but is rather 'bootstrapped' like many other cognitive abilities. The French neuroscientist Stanislaus Dehaene makes a great argument that parts of our visual area were bootstrapped over time to allow us to read and write.
>
>
> I don't know if you are looking specifically for the origin of drawing or an evolution. The Greek myth told by Pliny the elder of the Corinthian maiden who wished to 'keep' a trace of her lover with her as he left battle is one example of sketching/tracing/drawing- now, of course we have smart phones and instagram. She was certainly not ideating but she is using external media (stylus and wall) to capture a representation. The traces and marks left, for example by animals created 'drawings' (diagrams or maps would be a better word) of the animal's whereabouts. The freshness of the tracks, their orientation, their depth, and so on were all indices of the time the animal passed, it's weight, speed, and, most importantly, it's direction. What drawing/sketching are and how we use them is an incredibly rich pursuit and I wish you luck. Here are a few things I can recommend to consider.
>
>
> To Ken's point, I, too, believe that the terminology is important. The difference between 'sketching' versus 'drawing' can be quite substantial depending on who you talk to. My book should be called 'Sketching for Product Designers' but the publisher had an established series with the word 'drawing' in it so I had to go with that terminology. Amongst designers, I think you'll find general consensus that a 'sketch' is provisional and could include a full range of fidelities from the lowly Post-It note with a doodle and/or text to the napkin sketch all the way up to the recognizable artifact or space.
>
>
> When we sketch we are exploring as opposed to describing. As we zero in on an idea that we believe has promise, we slow down and begin to define (lock down) certain attributes and details. Kahneman's book Thinking Fast and Slow describes the system 1 versus system 2 mindsets. Sketching, to me, is very much a system 1 activity. I can be very responsive and immediate without fear of resolution. Most designers will describe that one of the powers of the compelling sketch is that it invites interpretation from a colleague or client. This ambiguity makes sketching feel more open ended and, well, exploratory. The goal is to leverage the marks on the page to help the designer(s) think.
>
>
> I commonly describe the differences in terms of performance- sketching (like sketch comedy) is improvisational whereas drawing is theatrical- it's more about performance and accuracy and less about chance. We don't want to watch actors who are making up or augmenting Shakespeare's text any more than we want improv comedians repeating memorized lines. There is of course a fine line (pun intended) between a theatrical performance that has an edge and improv comedy that has been honed over time to maximize impact.
>
>
> Ken's recommendation to expand the terms is a good one. Mapping, diagramming, even storyboarding are ways to explore ideas using different modes. Mapping tends to be spatial while diagramming is both spatial and causal. A good diagram- like a well-designed game board- allows participants to treat the visualization more like a tool for exploration with implicit rules built partially into the icons, shapes, layout/composition, text, arrows, and so on. I am for example exploring the semiotics of the diagram (Stjernfelt) as a way to understand the schematic nature of non-realistic sketching. Which brings me around to the last issue- who is your audience? If they are art students, I'm not convinced that this type of non-representational (non-veridical) visualization will be of interest to them (or, unfortunately, of much use).
>
>
> An architect tends to sketch in orthographic because it is about 'movement through space' and plan, elevation, and section are sufficient. An industrial designer tends to sketch in perspective (although we work a lot in orthographic because of the low cognitive load), and now that products and services work in tandem, we have to sketch 'in time' through storyboards, wireframes, and interactions. Sketching is an incredibly rich topic area and I'm not sure if spending time on it's history is really a good use of your time. In my book I blended psychology, history, and theory together only because they are intimately interconnected even to this day. It's hard not to see a contemporary CAD wireframe when looking at P. Uccello's vase. Alberti's treatise on perspective- Della Pittura has no images- I repeat NO IMAGES. Why is that interesting? It reminds us that sketching in perspective is algorithmic- a series of well defined steps that when followed results in a realistic image. When I launch Solidworks or Fusion 360 I am benefiting from the bootstrapping empirical labors of Brunnelschi and the codification of his friend Alberti......and hundreds of years of mathematical theorizing (Desargues, et al) not to mention all the wonderful machines developed to turn technical knowledge into a tool-like apparatus. Sketching is simply another way- for those of us with the skills to visualize ideas- to think.
>
>
> Nevertheless there are too many students confusing competency of technique with quality of thought- the equivalent of musicians who confuse their technically proficient guitar solos with great music/communication. There are plenty of people out there who have done the heavy lifting related to understanding the role of sketching and thinking- I suggest, if you have not already read her many essays and scientific papers, beginning with Barbara Tversky. Following up from one of Barbara's bibliographies will keep you busy for a long time. On the more poetic side I'd strongly suggest the anthropologist Tim Ingold's excellent book Lines A Brief History. Bill Buxton's excellent book Sketching User Experience is also a great place to start because he has a great handle on the depth/breadth of sketching......oh, and be sure to spend as much time as possible pondering Saul Steinberg's massive output- you won't come much closer to an artist who understood the power of line to present thinking on-the-fly- if ideation is, indeed, what you are after.
>
>
> I hope this helps and I look forward to any new insights you can bring to the subject.
>
>
> Kevin Henry, IDSA
> Associate Professor, Product Design, Design Department
> Columbia College Chicago
> 600 S. Michigan Ave.
> Chicago, Il. 60605
> t 312 369 7381
> f 312 369 8009
> [log in to unmask]
> http://kevinhenry.virb.com/
> http://drawingforproductdesigners.com/
> http://www.colum.edu/academics/fine-and-performing-arts/art-and-design/faculty.html
> http://www.laurenceking.com/us/category/design/drawing-for-product-designers-1/
>
> ________________________________
> From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Ken Friedman <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, January 12, 2018 6:45:05 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Help needed: question about the history of sketching?
>
> Dear Alma,
>
> You might find a book titled Thinking in Pictures useful. It is by Temple Grandin, a professor and highly skilled researcher with autism. Grandin does much of her thinking and planning in pictures.
>
> https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Pictures-Expanded-Life-Autism/dp/0307275655
>
> You can also seen a discussion of these issues on her web site, with links to added material:
>
> http://www.grandin.com/inc/visual.thinking.html
>
> You are likely to find useful resources if you teach under such cognate terms as visualization, visual thinking, drawing, mapping, and so on. While the words “sketch” and “sketching” are reasonable, people may describe the phenomena you seek under any of several terms.
>
> A look through such resources as Google Scholar, Academia, ResearchGate, and ProQuest under each of these terms is likely to help you locate many useful resources.
>
> A search in ProQuest Central for the word “sketching” in the abstract yields 14,136 items, of which 25 are dissertations and theses. Changing the search term to “drawing” yields 1,006,359 items, of which 3,396 are dissertations and theses. This suggests to me that more authors use the term drawing than sketching ― there may be differences in meaning, but some of these authors mean the same thing using a different term. A search for “visual thinking” yields 5,792 results, with 89 dissertations and theses among them.
>
> It will take you a few days of reading abstracts to see which of these will help you.
>
> Yours,
>
> Ken
>
> Ken Friedman | Editor-in-Chief | 设计 She Ji. The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation | Published by Tongji University in Cooperation with Elsevier | URL: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/she-ji-the-journal-of-design-economics-and-innovation/
>
> Chair Professor of Design Innovation Studies | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China ||| Email [log in to unmask] | Academia http://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman | D&I http://tjdi.tongji.edu.cn
>
>
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