Thinking on Paper

There is always a certain sense of pride when one can communicate directly through sketching. I have always done this at site meetings, but nowadays I spend more and more time sitting at my desk with a few pencils and a pack of markers. Ideas seem to pour out much faster when I am sketching, it’s more like 'thinking on paper'.

In a recent project designing some study furniture for a Georgian home in Buckinghamshire, we drew everything by hand. A lot of clients seem to much prefer the hand-crafted drawing which often has the personality which a computer rendering lacks. In a brainstorming meeting, clients love seeing the immediate visual flow of ideas and it makes it a more human way of connecting. Technical drawing obviously has its place further down the line, but in getting ideas across to a client, nine times out of ten people prefer to see a designer's ideas spilling freely onto the paper.

And as my furniture is custom-made for each client, it makes sense to show them a drawing which is also one-of-a-kind. It enhances its special nature and sets it apart from the high street brands. In a world of mass production, something made especially for you goes a long way.