Drawing by hand: why we still carry a sketchbook

Today it is possible to design a space entirely on a computer, from the first sketch to photorealistic images. Even so, when we head to meetings, building sites or on a trip, there is still a sketchbook and a few pencils in the bag. This is not nostalgia. We believe drawing by hand helps thinking in a different way.

Allowing uncertainty

A line drawn on screen is precise from the start: it has a length, a weight and a layer. A line drawn by hand can hesitate. A few overlapping strokes of a soft pencil can show a wall that has not been decided yet, or several possible positions for an opening at once.

In the first days of a design, that uncertainty is exactly what we need. Precision that comes too early can cut a good idea short. In the sketchbook, ideas stay open for longer.

Speed and conversation

Sketching a section or a seating layout in a few seconds while talking with a client at the table does not interrupt the conversation. On the contrary, when the other person picks up the pencil and adds something to the drawing, real collaboration begins. A screen is usually for one person; paper sits in the middle of the table.

Drawing in order to see

Drawing is not only a way to explain an idea; it is a way of seeing. When we try to draw a mosque, a street front or a stair in a hotel, we start to notice proportions and junctions we missed while simply looking. We forget most of the photographs we take while travelling, but we remember the places we drew years later.

From sketchbook to screen

Hand drawing does not replace the computer; each is a tool for a different stage. In the way we work, the sketchbook belongs to the early phase, when decisions are still forming. Once an idea is clear enough we move to scaled drawings and a three-dimensional model. But whenever we hit a problem along the way, we go back to paper.

Getting started

For anyone who wants to start drawing by hand again, our advice is this: you don’t need expensive materials. A pocket-sized notebook with thick pages and a soft pencil are enough. Focus on drawing often, not on drawing well. Even sketching the window opposite you while waiting for a coffee trains the eye.