Quick Question:
What advice would you give to people like me who haven’t done allot of sketching but has many products produced. Should I just go back and sketch as if I’ve done it before the products were made and is there a nice format to use and go by if you have a link? Some of the things I’ve made are wall clocks, pill crushers, portion plates, small travel speakers, knee hammers, clipboards, and etc.
Well, that is really hard to say. Is this for a portfolio? Do you feel like you need more sketching? Have you been told you need more? Are you a professional or student?
I’m a professional and is for a portfolio and I have been told I need to show more work and process.
Thanks Yo. I sent you an email btw.
Hey Yo,
I wanted to know if you wanted to add more input!
Be true to your process. If you didn’t sketch to create those product designs, what did you do?
Employers want to see your process, and that’s not always the same from designer to designer.
Good suggestion cg,
I’ve heard of designers who can’t sketch at all, and who still make great products - but it just doesn’t make sense to me, since I have to sketch to create a product. Anyway, if you made little crappy models out of aluminum foil or foam, take photos of them (good photos), and photoshop them so image looks nice enough to present. If you just sketched out random ideas on little post it notes, show all of them. But next time don’t use post it notes. (Perceived value from client or boss will not be taken if they see you sketching on crap paper – a great doctor doesn’t write your symptoms down on their hand, do they? if they did, that would be red flag and a half) No one can come up with a perfect product in a single thought. Maybe you wrote down a bunch of ideas verbally, show them. Take the collective process you’ve already done, and combine those thoughts and ideas into a few sketches, ideally more than a few. Got the idea?
I’ve done a bunch of thumbnail sketches. Here is a sample of what I’m talking about.
I have much more work but wanted to show you examples.
Haven’t had a chance to look at it yet. I think it went to my spam filter, and I have to log in to unlock it… complications.
every designer is different, as is every hiring manager. I just couldn’t ever see myself hiring anyone as a designer who couldn’t show quality rapid 2d visualization of ideas as conversation points. Often times it’s not the sketch, but the ideas you get when you show the sketch, and then do another one. But, that is how I work, and how I work with others.
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