“I’m astonished by drawing.” - Milton Glaser

The first drawing I remember completing was a set of monsters with one eye each. I cut them out and formed an flimsy, yet terrifying army. From that moment forward I have yet to put down my pencil. It is one of my longest-held dreams that when I come to an end, I have a pencil in my hand and some paper to scratch upon. I love drawing.

In the above video, Milton Glaser talks about his lifelong passion for drawing and the affect it has had upon his career as a creative professional. The video is simple, elegant and captivatingly digestible. It also reinforces the sentiment I hear time and time again from well-respected creatives, one of the best ways to become a better designer is to learn how to draw. Great advice, because I feel drawing forces one to not only visualize, but also consider. Drawing also hones instinct and as I stated in a previous post, for myself, it can also serve as excellent stress relief.

Although I hated it when I was in school, my long-time design professor used to make us draw at least 50-100 concepts before we were allowed to touch a computer. In the middle of these sketching sessions he would stop us, then ask us to draw a map of the United States from memory. At the time I thought these exercises were pointless, but as a working designer I now sing their benefits.

One of the reasons why I love design is the level of personal investment and engagement it demands. Although I hesitate to label design a sport, there is a strong element of preparation and training that it requires. My professor realized and taught me that to be a better designer I need to constantly maintain a certain level of creative and mental fitness. For myself, drawing and doodling accomplishes this.

In a large dusty box I’ve managed to keep samples of notes from courses I enjoyed while in college. It’s rare that you’ll find a page in these books free of a scratching or doodle. Last spring NPR sung the praises of doodling and enumerated upon the benefits this practice produces such as aiding in concentration during moments when the mind seeks to wander.

In the end, I know many designers who have never sketched out a concept before they’ve started a project. In my humble opinion, there is definitely nothing wrong with this. Everyone has a different creative process and if you find something that works, you should stick with it. For myself, drawing and sketching allows me the freedom to dream big, then gradually refine a concept into a workable form. Drawing unplugs my thought process from the limitations of hardware and software which can (if unchecked) stifle a potentially killer idea.

At the beginning of the above video Mr. Glaser describes drawing as “…the most fundamental way of engaging the world.” Coming from a master of design, I see this quote as a powerful reminder why I should always keep my pen supply full and a roll of tissue paper close at hand.