Here at Tee Design we are definitely not opposed to computers, but it is important that every project begins in the right way… at the drawing board! Computers are undoubtedly a vital tool in the complete design process, but it can be easy to jump straight into Photoshop and start playing around with those pixels before you have really got to grips with the main thing, the starting point… the IDEA.
As Larry Asher, co-director of the School of Visual Concepts states: “Learn to think. Learn to draw. Learn to express your ideas with your hands.”
It is this important initial phase that really allows you to:
- think creatively
- note down all of your thoughts
- ideas
- fleeting moments of genius
- everything that could potentially become the solution to the design puzzle you are solving.
It is from here that ideas develop, evolve and you move onto producing what looks like an actual artwork draft – combining requirements of the brief and the client’s desires with your creative ideas.
Leave Your Computer on the Shelf
Unfortunately, many think that if they learn how to use Illustrator or Photoshop, they are ready and able to design, which is much like saying that because you know how to put a key in the ignition, you are ready to drive formula one. Computer programs are a tool that can aid as part of the design process – using a computer program is not ‘designing’.
You can see how the sketching phase works in practice you can see below how some of Nathan’s initial sketches have been developed into what became the design concept presented to the client.
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