Don't be fooled!

The amazing sketches you see online, or in peoples portfolios, are rarely the sketches that they made during the creative proces! Take these examples from a project that I was part of years ago.

The brief was to re-design the interiors for the Industrial Design department at The Hague University of Applied Science.

The first sketch (above) is a concept presentation sketch. It showcases a view through the Design Studio where students are working on their design projects. It took me hours to complete however, hardly any design work went into this sketch. Most of the design had been explored and developed way before I set out to produce this sketch.

The next three images (below) show the messy sketches where most of the insight and breakthrough ideas for the final interior design (also below) originate from! These sketches were made during a design meeting. They reflect the conversation I had with another designer and were quick attempts to find solutions that reflected our vision in response to the design brief. Quick and dirty!

Yet, many design students (and design professionals) assume they will have to produce pretty sketches (in perspective) right from the start. Preferably rendered. This is a major pitfall!

The more you focus on the quality of your sketch, the less time and attention is available for creative thinking. And the more time you have spent on a sketch, the more resistance you will feel to experiment or make changes to the design.

But it gets worse: when you attempt to sketch in a fidelity that is higher than your current skill level, frustration levels will quickly peek and will knock you out of your creative flow before you know it!

If you struggle with perspective you are better off sketching in simple side views to stay in 'the zone'. Sketching in minimal fidelity is key to quickly getting your thoughts on paper in a visual format. This allows you (and your peers) to see the idea emerge in real time and makes it a lot easier to test your assumptions: will this idea work? will it look right? can it be made?

In that sense, sketching should be seen more like visual prototyping. It is one of the quickest ways to test if an idea will fly. But here's the kicker: this only works if you have enough confidence to visualise your ideas quickly and without the fear of making a mistake. In other words, you will first need to develop your sketching skill, before you can accept the 'mistakes' and doodle with confidence!

This is the paradox that I face as a teacher of design sketching: On the one hand I urge my students to master the skill of sketching in all facets (from straight lines and 3-point perspective to digital techniques). I even point out their weak spots and encourage them to do better. Yet, at the same time I tell them to drop the fidelity and not to worry about the quality as they apply their skill in the creative process.

For aspiring designers with little experience this can be a confusing message. Especially if you see stunning sketches everywhere in portfolios and social feeds. These examples can feel highly intimidating and can even discourage you from picking up the pencil. Many students feel they will never be able to reach that level.

What they don't realise is that the sketches they see online are carefully curated and you rarely get to see the messy exploratory sketches that came before.

The problem is that (unlike young kids) most designers feel highly uncomfortable sharing crappy doodles with others. A messy sketch signals a weak skill level. Others may get the impression that we are not so talented as we would like them to believe. It takes courage to produce messy sketches and share them with others, because it feels like we are underperforming.

The only way out is to experience the boost in creativity that you get from sketching without fear first-hand. Once you feel the raw creative power flowing through your hands onto the paper, you will know exactly what I mean.

Here's my action list to get you in the zone:

• Train your motor skill to boost confidence (some tips to get your started)

• Adopt some exploratory sketching habits (take my free online course)

• Use shortcuts for sketching in perspective (check out my favourite cheat!)

Happy sketching!