Pragmatic and Intuitive Approaches to Design Drawing

The Essential Role of Imagination in the Visualization Process

Mark Baskinger, Assistant Professor, School of Design | Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to introduce themes and approaches in contemporary visualization that engage the imagination of the author and audience to enhance the larger creative process. Analog visual communication, defined as hand-generated sketches, diagrams and narratives, is of especial interest as it can bring powerful perceptual and conceptual processes to bear in making inferences and subsequent decisions. While there is a great deal of interest today in using the capabilities of computers to provide dynamic displays that provide a rapidly changing picture of the subject, many prefer static displays, comparing stationary before-and-after representations to draw inference about change. The forum for this paper precludes comprehensive discourse of the current trends in visualization, the role of technology and the necessary preservation of sketching for the design process; therefore, we only provide a cursory understanding of our approach. Currently, we are working on a compendium of drawing materials to manifest in a tentatively titled book Methodology of Visualization: Analog Visual Communication for People Who Create Things anticipated in the near future.

File attachments: