Sketches are tools used by designers to visually represent and depict physical aspects while composing an idea for a product or service. The act of sketching has a series of advantages. Sketches are cheap and quick to materialise, therefore, easily disposable and replaceable. Because of this, it is possible to articulate several ideas without having to compromise valuable resources, such as time or expensive materials. Rather than trying to verbalise what ideas are going to look like, they can be quickly represented through a sketch. By putting ideas on paper, they become clearer, facilitating a generative dialogue between your thoughts and your sketch. The act of sketching creates a ‘back talk’ (Schön, 1991), allowing for new meaning to emerge that can be explored through further sketching. As a result, ideas might end up being more comprehensive and creative.
Continued on pages 142-143 of Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat.