1 Shade of Grey:Simplify to Excel in Sketching for IndustrialDesign Engineers
Year: 2014
Editor: Erik Bohemia, Arthur Eger, Wouter Eggink, Ahmed Kovacevic, Brian Parkinson, Wessel Wits
Author: Daniel, John
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Division of Business Administration, Technology and Social Sciences, Lule
Section: Design Education in Practice
Page(s): 372-376
ISBN: 978-1-904670-56-8
Abstract
Sketching is a fast way to explore or communicate ideas and can be done instantly with almost no planning. Sketches are quick, dynamic and iterative. They can be made in many ways but are traditionally created by using pen and paper. This is one of the most efficient tools to trigger the creative process and keep it going. In the educational context where sketching and artistic skills are a compromise between traditional engineering and traditional Design education some problems can be identified. At the Industrial Design engineering program at Lulea University of Technology (LTU) the students are accepted on their grades only, and students attending sketch classes at LTU come from a wide range of backgrounds. As a result of this the sketching education must be tailored for students ranging from experienced level to inexperienced. When there are a lot of students and time is limited, learning activities must be implemented according to this reality. A way to speed up the learning process is to reduce the cognitive load. Too many possibilities and factors confuse students that are inexperienced in the field. The activities should also help keeping the rate of practice up and eliminate things that are not part of the intended learning outcome. This paper shows how a simple change of tools in the sketching class makes huge impact on the progress and discusses the mechanisms behind the effect.
Keywords: Mechanical, engineer, creativity, sketching, design