should one sketch with the mind or heart??

should one concentrate on while sketching a concept


issues for example constraints, user, market, client philosophy…

OR

free flow of ideas how ever they come…where ever they fit…


if the later then how does one fit the concept into the practical real life parameters???

i know it sounds funny but this reminds me of the passionate artist or the enthusiastic inventor who only wants to realize the concept and isn’t concerned about anything else.

in a real product even a bolt or a weld line could become a significant issue let alone more complex issues like structure and ergonomics.

for a serious product you need to do the research, unless you are in a rush to be the first person who designed a two legged table or like the japanese idiots who design all these retarded robots. (no offense to japanese people)

A “passionate artist” is an artist with a good sense of aesthetics who works more with his heart
The “enthusiastic inventor” is a scientist understanding and explaining theories in the form of working prototypes.

THE DESIGNER is the one who is supposed to be ammalgamater of the two to make it sellable…as a working product with a good form…

An aesthetic piece of art and a working prototype both might have some lackings…Is the designer supposed to fill in that lacuna???is the question…

The next question would be how does a designer prepare himself to handle such situations???Should a passionately artistic designer have a crazy inventor hidden in him…The perfect combo would probably be a gifted phenomenon…But till then what should the approach of us lesser beings be???


Loads of things come to my mind right now…but let me wait for some more views on this…

the designer can have many definitions, including the most common idea which is creativity.

therefore you should concentrate on creativity and what it means. unfortunately most people think creativity consists of coming up with ideas and being able to take advantage of new or innovative technologies.

we have seen in the past, and currently too, that this type of approach can not only be destructive and distasteful but also leads to behavior that defines new paths for designers who truly believe its ok to follow this system.

that is to think every idea is adaptable and progressive because you have the industrial and financial capabilities with disregard to the original intent.

we all know this is only for the sake of profit not design. so how do you define passionate or inventive in this workframe. is it not saying to us that we, as designers, should have an alert/filtering system to recognise and distinguish those so called gifted phenomenons and respond critically. shouldn’t this be our first approach before we’re lead into a black hole of mystery and suspense imposed on us by those innovators and artists on TV, on internet, and tech or design magazines?

this is a serious issue and has been ignored by designers whether just students learning or professionals with years of experience behind them for the simple reason that designers are being herded by an industry that likes to define every parameter by stealing , getting exclusive rights for it, then prioritizing inventions and assigning them to those who they see fit for their own strategy and profit. this isn’t right.

as designers we need to question these issues instead of accepting them as granted. it is part of our work and profession to hold people responsible for their ideas/creations, specially those which define direction.

the more we remain indifferent the less creative we become because no longer do we have the control over the idea and it reaches a point where as a designer you only fill a job spot with already defined path by some retard executive who has no idea what is going on but accepts a presentation from an inventor or artist and a marketing guru which god knows where he/she came from and decides to go with it.

absolutely the reality of today’s designs which needs to be changed imo.

Back to the question.

Without a long winded didactic monologue, the answer is you should do BOTH.

definately both.

i find my lines flow better when sketching from the heart, when sketching with the mind i control them more and the whole sketch in the end looks static.

often i find that i sketch using my mind too much as i always want to make my sketches functional and not just pretty to look at.

why not, let us read your long winded didactic monologue.

Yo…Its easier said than done!!
You must be a genius to be able to control the external as well as the internal flow at the same time doing justice to both…

I agree one has to do both the things together…but how much is the question???

Me? C’mon, I can hardly walk and chew gum at the same time…

I don’t think is is the ability to do both at the same time, but rather to go back and forth between the ways. To start loose to get concepts rolling, and then tighten down with some development sketches defining the concept, and then do a clear tech drawing (or 3d file), get prototypes back, and loosen back up to re-investigate options (things are never as they look on-screen), tighten down again and make specific changes, and back again…

That’s how I do it anyway, my proccess might be long, cause maybe I’m not as good as some others on here, but I try to make it work for me.

I think you shouldn’t put any limitations in the initialisation phase, you should try to let all your ideas flow freely in the biggining, let them all out the way you see them, no matter how impossible to produce or even beautiful, when you’re done, take a step back, look at the sketches, gather your ideas, then stsrt going deeper with technicalities and all, cuz if you don’t let your ideas out from the biggining, you’ll always keep on thinking about them in the back of your mind, plus seeing ideas on paper rather than imagining them will give you a greater ability to evaluate and think more about what you’re doing :slight_smile:

kruztez is right. Don’t forget the whole design process here. In the initial phase is where you design from the heart. Draw all ideas that intrigue you. Then bring in fellow designers and try to explain your ideas. Hearing yourself explain them (in addition to your coworkers opinions) is a fast way to determine a good idea from a bad idea. You should have at least 2-3 refinement stages in your process. This is where you apply your constraints. After your initial ideation, weed out the bad ideas, and start sketching the ones that seem more promising. After the whole design process, you should have a bitchin design that fits all constraints. This way you are drawing with both parts of your brain, just not at the same time :wink:

Draw by reflex as much as you can- switch hands etc to generate ideas. Just like thinking, sometimes you let go to trip something that yu would not otherwise, or you have had blinders to.

Just like thinking out a solution when it comes down to implementation you have to start crunching details and then you have to really concentrate. Same with sketches.

Even then there is a lot of back and forth. Sketch- detail something out in CAD? model. refine an area by generating ideas and then hone it again.

Good advice. I notice when I find myself in a sketch rut, it often helps, and I am far more productive when I ignore mechanical or manufacturing concerns. Those concerns though important, are easier resolved after the creative sketch phase. Another way I like to keep ideas fresh is by going back and forth between hand sketching and loose Rhino “sketching”.

or like the japanese idiots who design all these retarded robots.

Wow sounds just like people talking about computers in the 70’s.

我是谁??i thenk i can got it

I use my hands!

sorry…

I got two degrees. One 4 year in Engineering. One 5 year in ID. Simple solution. Now I do both when sketching.

Recommend you get two degrees if this is an issue.

hmmmmm, anybody else have any ideas? Apart from spending a decade at college… I feel that any good 4 year industrial design degree should teach students to do both.

I (and probably most people) vary my thought process depending on the type of project and the project stage.

exactly, gotta use the right tool for the right job…

The Heart or the Mind? Wow what a great issue!

The heart is not capable of thought. But in human language the heart - is often misused to indicate thoughts that are driven by Passion. Passion on the other hand, is supposed to be independent of Reason; often working against it and sometime extending it.

In the Drama of Desing, the designer is now miserably torn between the two. Out of this misery Design is born - throttled by reason and enticed by passion. The poor human in its deep misery and boredom, alas, is so happy to notice something that evokes passion - but also wants the dam thing to work - thus design is perpetually cursed to be within the confines of reason.

The dilemma then, for the young designer (no offense here) is that, when one starts the design which should reign? The Heart or the Mind? Passion or Reason?

OK, If you let Passion sits on the driving seat Reason will readily go on a ride, but soon and often much latter it will hammer your design - to shape it within its boring confines.

On the other hand, if you let Reason rein your start – you are doomed at the start - you will certainly end up with the known and the boring.

Such is the paradox of design.