In a Digital/Artificial Intelligence time can sketches still be useful for Design Process?

Abstract

Design is, undoubtedly, a creative process. To solve several design problems, designers need tools with specific qualities. Can sketches still be beneficial during design creative process?The relationship between freehand drawing and designers is very old, as the designers use this medium as a way of giving space to creative thinking.Sketching is often used as a tool during idea generation in the early stages of design process. It is in this initial phase of project conception in design where sketches are more frequently used.With the advent of digital drawing tools, most designers, from several design areas, still prefer to sketch with a pen, or a pencil on a paper during the ideas generation.However, and for several users, sketches may seem obsolete representations, totally unable to compete with the modern and sophisticated modeling tools.Nowadays, the use of digital rendering has grown, as the advancement of hardware and software that provide the use of the technique via computer is notorious.With the evolution of technology, the end of manual drawing has long been one of the most discussed issues.There are, however, questions for its future: should technological means completely replace the old method in the name of speed, practicality and immediate results?This paper reflects on sketching as the conception and representation or presentation of an idea, essential to human-centered design practice.We intend to investigate how sketches can still be powerful representations of new ideas, as part of a larger design process, as a key method for thinking, reasoning, and exploring solutions for design problems.