Software is (we literally can’t blame it) self-serving. It trains us to believe that digital tools are all we need to create. Though we rely on software for the final execution of design ideas, computers lack creative generative power, and they certainly don’t allow for quick iteration and exploration the way pencil and paper (or, sure, marker and whiteboard) do.

Sketching allows you to explore alternatives quickly; to separate strong compositions from weak ones, practical from impractical, and reveal potential issues that don’t translate from thought to execution.

Think about the number of times you were able to align with a client or internal partner on an idea that existed solely in your brain. It’s too easy to get burned by things that only “sound good” on paper. Either they reject your idea because they can’t visualize it the way you do, or your idea is misinterpreted through lack of clarity and they walk away with an alternative understanding. When abstract ideas lack concrete presentation: Game over.

You can fall victim to this over-reliance on digital tools at any point in your career, and I’ve worked with designers 10, 15 years into their journey who resist even simple sketching by hand for planning purposes. You may be thinking, “But I can’t draw!”. Visual thinking and idea generation can be done well even if it’s ugly because sketching is a functional process that doesn’t need artistic proficiency to be successful. It’s so much less about generating art as it is about generating a conversation.

Software is (we literally can’t blame it) self-serving. It trains us to believe that digital tools are all we need to create. Though we rely on software for the final execution of design ideas, computers lack creative generative power, and they certainly don’t allow for quick iteration and exploration the way pencil and paper (or, sure, marker and whiteboard) do.

Sketching allows you to explore alternatives quickly; to separate strong compositions from weak ones, practical from impractical, and reveal potential issues that don’t translate from thought to execution.

Sketching allows you to explore alternatives quickly; to separate strong compositions from weak ones, practical from impractical, and reveal potential issues that don’t translate from thought to execution.

Software is (we literally can’t blame it) self-serving. It trains us to believe that digital tools are all we need to create. Though we rely on software for the final execution of design ideas, computers lack creative generative power, and they certainly don’t allow for quick iteration and exploration the way pencil and paper (or, sure, marker and whiteboard) do.

You can fall victim to this over-reliance on digital tools at any point in your career, and I’ve worked with designers 10, 15 years into their journey who resist even simple sketching by hand for planning purposes. You may be thinking, “But I can’t draw!”. Visual thinking and idea generation can be done well even if it’s ugly because sketching is a functional process that doesn’t need artistic proficiency to be successful. It’s so much less about generating art as it is about generating a conversation.