Does Drawing Make You a Better Graphic Designer?

Not necessarily, Graphic Design involves much thinking and imagination, the better thinker you are the better designer you become. After collecting a brief, do concept mapping(Mind Mapping) then some quick sketches. Here the drawing plays a big role in saving time and resources. When you rush to design in Illustrator or whatever software, chances are it might not be the best visual solution for the brief and therefore the process becomes iterative and tedious. Its more tedious to design on the computer than with pencil and paper!

Drawing has special advantages that you cannot ignore. It is quick ➹➹  compared to the very fast computer 8th Generation i7. Drawing captures imagination, concepts at the speed of thought does not require power and can be achieved anywhere. A pen and a blank paper are the simplest User Interface with very little distraction that's why you become more creative and productive than when on a software. Drawing is like recording all the concepts you come up with quickly, you usually end up with initial sketches which can be enhanced to comprehensives that the client can be engaged and understand.

Wacom and other Graphic tablets have come to fill that niche by allowing you to draw directly on your software just like the traditional way. This is good but look at it this way; it has the same Interface as the Software and buttons, you have to organize a neat work space or else so much clutter will fill the screen and there are so many colors. These are disadvantages in the initial design phase which is collecting and organizing your thoughts. So much of your working memory will be used to decode all what you are seeing on the computer, you have no control on how your brain works its how it is. Temptation to add colors, gradients and texture will hinder you from getting a good structure for your design and the main function of the design.

To free yourself its best to use pencil to come up with many sketches as possible then later refine them with the pencil or trace them with the pen tool in your software. Sketching is not only for logo design, posters, websites, large text and story boards require some structure, a layout which you can cheaply produce in plenty of by sketching. When you face a design challenge the best way to deal with it is to have a game plan, sketching is key, then figure out which software to use next, then which tools and techniques to apply in those particular softwares you selected. I even write drafts on my note book before editing on InCopy and publishing on my blog. It helps a lot thats how we are used to from school. Plan before you implement this applies even to the production artists.

If you are comfortable working on your screen, let this post not discourage you but inspire you to learn about drawing by practicing only 40 minutes a day for just a month. Learning how to draw earn you certain insights about compositions. You will have a better understanding of space and perspectives, enabling you to come up with compelling designs.

Drawing is not the only way to be creative, thinking is. Ideas are everywhere its up to you to connect them and derive an authentic concept. Using strings and ribbons for example can yield excellent realistic results. Just like Art and Craft, involve your hands, play with objects around you in order to develop a non existing idea. Remember you’ll only draw what you already know but objects around you can be very helpful. For instance I was commissioned to design a logo for a restaurant called “Club One Love“ which offers entertainment and drinks, drawing helped a lot to develop many ideas but what i liked the most was the idea for arranging bear bottle tops to form a heart shape, then snap it and traced in Illustrator. Try it your Self. 

A pencil is just a tool, a computer is another tool to  get you there, but you and your brain are all what you need. You don’t need to have a Wacom tablet or a Mac Book pro to be the best but your brain and your thinking. Mind Maps are excellent tools for thinking, learn more about them and always apply them in your designs and you will be amazed how powerful they are.

So to be a better designer you need more thinking and planning, researching on the client, the audience having a game plan for tools and techniques and designing last on the computer.