Juicy Slice - INTERESTING READS

• Blog,Creativity
• Aug 25, 2020

Thinking with a pencil!

You Think. You Draw. Make mistakes. Learn. So it is all a process.

Thinking with a pencil is a

1. Process of self-realization: The word “Thinking” immediately connects you to an “Engaging thought process with your own self”. It is like having a conversation within. “With a pencil” is executing your thoughts / expressing / letting out your creativity. Speaking of creativity, every individual is creative in their own ways if observed closely, it is how effectively we deal with it and how we put it to use.

Thinking with a pencil is synonymous to thinking aloud, where you can immediately rectify your mistakes when expressed with words. Also observing the kind of process you have followed which indirectly builds a sense of self-confidence.

2. Tool for effective communication: Communication takes place between two people. The one expressing has to be clear enough of what he is trying to say, because mind is full of creative ideas. But ideas are imaginative; they need to be executed well. Hence a pencil helps to articulate your ideas well on a paper and makes communication efficient.

PENCIL: A tool that stands for originality and creativity

Everything starts with a pencil. It is surprising to see how a simple wooden pencil has its own importance for different people.

1. A tool for doodlers : Thinking and creativity
2. Toy for children: Spontaneity & Immaturity
3. An ephemeral medium for thinkers, planners, drafters, architect.

A thought to be reflected upon:

Pencil is considered unremarkable and taken for granted because it is abundant and inexpensive in nature.

How does sketching add a value to a growing idea?

A process-driven idea always gives fantastic results. And a sketch is the first step. It helps you to ideate and internalize, depicts that you have the ability to put across your ideas well and amplifies a person’s imagination and relieve limited capacity working.

Sketching is a crucial part of a designer’s life, as a sketch helps to

1. Give a variety of options/ alternatives
2. Simplify and highlight only the relevant details
3. Make communication more precise and collaborative.
4. Deliver solutions instantly.

You can return back to a sketch at any point of time because that was originally your idea, you might tend to deviate from that during later stages of design implementation.

Tips for a designer:

How can you go about making your idea a big success with a pencil?

• Get Inspired. Get Motivated. Find out what are your passions, because then only you will be able to cumulate all of that on paper.
• Ensure Clarity: Have your concepts clear in your mind. Write down words that explain it really well and make basic forms with the help of shapes & lines.
• Explore as much as you can, go wacky, be unconventional, because the more you draw the more your ideas will get refined. This will indirectly make the design process instant.
• Connect the dots between various concepts you have sketched.
• Digital media will only help you modify your concepts. Each media has its own significance so it is important for you to recognize it, mixing the two will create more confusion.
• Remember whatever you sketch reflects your personality, so trying adding a style of your own.

Be a child. Explore!!

Ever noticed a child, their behavior, actions, and the kinds of activities they involve themselves into and moreover the kind of doodles they make.

A child keenly observes the environment around and is constantly exploring which is visible from the kind of doodles they do, the details they add depicts how freely they think and how they are not limited to only one idea or a thought. As adults we are stuck to just certain ideas. Let us not limit ourselves, think freely and differently.

To conclude

Pencil is a Representational tool, since the presentation of ideas already happens in the mind. Drawing is a feedback process, you have ideas, you draw and the drawing gives you desired results according to your needs. Learning process becomes much faster.

Author: Disha Shah, Graphic Designer