The process of design in today’s world is greatly influenced, shaped, and realized by technology, and in particular by CAD techniques. Technology, in all its diverse functions, has developed to become incredibly accessible to many. No longer the sole preserve of research laboratories, universities, governments, corporations, etc., the fervent adoption of digital information systems had sparked a technological revolution in the modern world. When future historians look back to this present stage in design’s evolution, they will no doubt identify this time as the pivotal turning point in how we started to shape our surroundings.

So without attempting to analyse the development of technology and it’s influence on society, a topic which is too big for a single post on a blog, I would like to ponder how technology influences the creative process of design.

Are the methods we use, as designers across all disciplines, including interior design, architecture, and product design, more led by the the technological means we use to realize the design, as opposed to other “manual” methods. In other words, would the same spark of an idea have the same ultimate conclusion or result if done on a computer, or by hand? Computers versus pencil and paper?

I won’t even attempt to submit an answer to this question as there are so many variables, but it is something I like to keep in mind in my own work, and indeed when I am looking at the greater world around me. Every so often I might see a building and think … yeah that building looks like it came straight out of a computer software program! I mean, sometimes a building looks too ordered, efficient, and “perfect", without any human error or visible flaws. And as a consequence, maybe lacking in any kind of vulnerability or endearing charm. After all, as human beings, we like to project personality onto everything - including inanimate objects! We’re a strange species all-right

Anyway a recent project made me think about this in more practical terms when sketching out the concept of a restaurant design. The CAD visualisation was fine, as you would expect from a solid computer program, but I felt it lacked something. I was trying to convey a certain mood in the sketches, in scale too, but it needed to look more raw, organic, rough, and a bit “cartoon-like” to depict the overall mood. So, I got out the drawing board and drew in the “old-fashioned way.” [That’s the way drawing boards are regarded in design nowadays, I’m not joking!] Still, I love using the traditional methods of drafting and sketching …. give me paper, inky pens, and markers anyday!

But, there is a place for all techniques that work, and whatever conveys the design to the client, and to the team that make it a reality in a clear manner is ultimately the best technique, isn’t it?