Ep. 45, Why Draw?
Drawing is thinking out loud. Drawing is a universal language that has the ability to cut across language, time and cultures. Drawing is a thought realized. Drawing is the fastest way from idea to consensus.
The more revealing question is- how to draw? Particularly for those who haven’t drawn for some time or who lack the confidence in putting something down on paper. The reality is that drawing can be detached from its’ aesthetic value and approached simply as a communication tool. This tool works as well for yourself as it does for a room full of people. To draw is to understand. To draw is to be present. To draw is to simplify. To draw is to remember.
I have found this to be true, alone in the studio, as well as in a room full of engineers, aviators, scientists and doctors. Drawing gives us the ability to arrive at a hard “yes” or “no”. Drawing is as fundamental to being human as any other tool that we have. While spoken language allows us to communicate in real time, the drawing of written characters lets us share our thoughts, ideas and lessons across time and place.
It’s unfortunate that drawing has been relegated to the fringes of many industries and commercial applications. Yet, those who recognize that drawing isn’t simply an aesthetic pursuit, but an incredible tool for understanding, can embrace the immediacy of images in their ability to communicate complex ideas.
It’s not about mastery of drawing; it’s about the communication of ideas.
Drawing for aesthetic value is an entirely different process than drawing for clarity. Where aesthetic is subject to taste, fashion and visual hyperbole, drawing for communication is the opposite. Drawing for communication is about interpretation, design, clarity and simplicity.
Drawing for communication is to draw for consensus. We are not reliant on existing imagery, photography or software. All that is needed is a pen or pencil and a sheet of paper, or in the case of our work at NASA and in the classroom- a whiteboard and marker.
When you draw for communication, and you can set your insecurities aside, you naturally simplify and stylize, and you begin to embrace the power of visual language through symbols, shorthand and an ancient direct, universal language that predates written words.