How Can Sketching Make Us Better Designers? / David Drazil
On July 12th, 2019 we had a cool and interesting conversation with David Drazil.David Drazil is a young architect and artist from the Czech Republic, based in Prague. He has a passion for visual presentation of architecture; he shares tips & tricks on architectural sketching and creates freebies and educational resources on how to #SketchLikeAnArchitect. He is an online teacher, author, external lecturer AND the founder of SketchLikeAnArchitect.com. He has an engaging community of over 90,000 only on Instagram currently, and has thousands of students taking his sketching courses.
He helps architects, designers, and sketchers use sketching as a tool for understanding, developing, and presenting their ideas.
During the conversation, we talk about how and why he started Sketch Like An Architect: how through consistency and passion, he developed an extremely compelling platform for students to understand and feel comfortable sketching. David gives amazing pieces of advice on how to become better at sketching and designing, on how to stop being afraid of failure and how to be more productive and develop faster ideas through sketching. We talk about how design should be more about people and the relationship they have with one another, and not so much on the building. This is an extremely interesting conversation, one you definitely do NOT want to miss! Let the talk begin.
Interview Transcript:
M: What are you working on right now?
D: There are a couple of things… Recently I just started my new website, my first ever website! At SketchLikeAnArchitect.com, so I’m working on producing more content, especially for the blog posts, and galleries of sketches for inspiration. So that’s definitely one thing… And the other thing is working on the new educational material on advanced techniques on architectural sketching. So there comes more things related to that.
M: Wow, that’s so nice! I’ve actually wanted to ask you something ever since I met you through Instagram; are you doing this full time or is it a part-time job?
D: It’s been, as they say -- a real hustle from the beginning. When I started this I was actually unemployed back then, in Denmark. Right now I’m in Prague. But back then, I started in the time when I was looking for a job to work as an architect. At that point, I started with Instagram, I think it was 2017… The beginning of the year. Soon after that I got hired, and actually most of the time, those two years, it was working in the evenings and early mornings in the weekends on Sketch Like An Architect.
M: Haha, I know how that feels.
D: I was working as a full-time architect, and as an extra thing, I was doing the Sketch Like An Architect project, and things related to that. Up until now it has always being a side hustle, part-time thing.
M: But I mean, at the end of the day it’s something that you love. You feel very passionate about it, so at the end of the day it doesn’t really seem like work, you know?
D: Yeah, not at all….. At work my responsibilities at the job were kind of limited, because I was a fresh graduate, I was new, I started getting experienced…. So the responsibility I was given was not as big. So when I would come home, I was doing this little project of mine, this online thing, I get all the responsibilities. And all the decisions are made by me. So it’s a nice experience, a nice balance… Ok, working and getting experience in real practice, and doing something completely on my own which I’m in charge of everything. So it was a nice balance I guess.
M: You know, I actually look up to that because there’s some people that don’t really have the time to do the side hustle that they want. And then, it becomes a thing that they say “Well… you know I’m not actually gonna do it.” But that step of actually doing it and working on it, is really hard. Taking the evening when you want to be with your family or friends, but you know that you have to do it and stay consistent, is really inspiring.
How did you start it though? What was it in your head that told you “I want to do this, I want to help people, teaching them how to sketch.” How did it all start?
D: That’s a good question. Actually… To be completely honest, it started all from a frustrating experience I had in my University in Denmark, where I was doing my Masters. And a lot of students, a lot of my peers, were not taught how to sketch or how to draw, how to draw. And nobody actually taught them during the studies. It was very visible in the graphical outputs, in everything you do; every drawing. Even though it is technical, you can feel if the person has a visual sense for how things are clearly communicated… That inability to not sketch and draw take its toll in those outputs, and since we were working in groups, sometimes I was not satisfied with the level of standards that we would produce.
At the same time, I was also learning a lot of stuff online. Taking classes and courses on my own and learning more outside of school. And I thought, “hey, maybe there are more people like that that would actually benefit from being able to sketch and use it as a tool for the design process and presentations.” Just learning the absolute basics of architectural sketching. So after I finished my Masters I just decided to share those basic tips of how to sketch like an architect with the world. At the time I had no website, but I know that Instagram was growing, it was becoming big. It was in 2016, 2017... So I took it as a great opportunity to start. Just showcasing a behind the scenes of how I was producing sketching and tips on how to sketch. Also I was putting together the first PDF handbook and first online course. So I took it as a gallery of work and progress.
It somehow took off… Because I was providing a lot of value when it comes to tips and how to improve. Tips that are very easy to digest and you can take them and apply them to your own sketching and illustrations. From that point on, it’s been very meaningful to me. I have found a lot of purpose in that. I think teaching is such a great purpose to have. When you know something a little bit better than most people, I think it’s such a nice feeling to share it with the world. To help someone that might need it for their work too.
M: And it’s so fulfilling too!
D: Yeah, and I stay consistent. Because I believe in it and I still believe it brings value to any designer.
M: Oh yeah, for sure. And I also saw something you put on your new website, SketchLikeAnArchitect.com… You said something about how technology right now is taking over the whole aspect of sketching. For architects, sketching is such an important tool. Designers also, in general. And there was a question that they asked in your community which was… “Do you think architecture sketching is becoming a lost art form, due to computer sketching?”
D: That is a really good question. I think it is becoming more lost than it was before because of all of the technological advancements. And I think that’s also the reason why the Sketch Like An Architect project can be alive, because there’s more demand for that analog skill. I believe that it [sketching] still has huge benefits and values that provides for better design and better presentation. But at the same time, because of all the new softwares and all the focus of the world in new technology, sketching is becoming lost.
So yes, it is becoming lost, but my mission is to say… “Hey, there are so many benefits, so much value that you can take out of simply using pen and paper.” For simple design and communication, for idea development…. Sketching is a part of process for many architects and designers. I see a huge technological barrier when you use any digital software. Being AutoCad or any BIM platform. Many people just use generic walls and predefined windows and they put it together and call it a facade. That’s not really what creative process in design is for me…
One of the biggest advantages of sketching is the instant connection between your head and mind. You get very easily into the state of flow where your creativity and problem-solving skills are at their peak. And you really get to do something productive and creative. Once you know what you want to achieve with your sketch, then you can take it to digital space. That’s totally OK. But I’m against diving right into digital software when you don’t know what you want to create in the first place; when you don’t have a clear intention. And I think just sketching it out is the fastest and more natural way of how to get there first.
M: Yeah… I definitely agree with everything you’re saying. I feel like you’re in my head. Because me being an undergraduate professor for design students… I receive students that are just coming into architecture and the first thing they want to do is download Rhino. And I’m like… Okay first, you need to learn how to sketch. You need to know how to put your ideas into paper because if not, you’re not really advancing in your process. They’re so focused on the destination: on building something already. But it’s a process… And it all comes together through sketching, to finally arrive at a design that you like. THEN, after you have the dimensions and everything, you put it into AutoCad and then into Rhino. That’s definitely a really good advice for architecture students right now….
When you started drawing though, this is a really good question -- were you always good at it?
D: Haha, you know? I sucked! I totally sucked! Like you say, it’s a process. It’s a journey. You don’t practice when you’re good. You practice to become good. They say it all the time, “practice makes perfect” and it is not a cliche, it’s true… It’s a really long journey. And I don’t think I’m at a stage when I can say “I’m really good at sketching.” No, I have lots to learn still. And the more I learn, the more I’m aware of the things I do not know yet. It’s just opening wider options and opportunities for me to learn.
To me, most of the sketches I do are for the design process. For problem solving and iterations. When you have tracing paper and you lay them over again and again to make it better. That’s 80 or 90% of my sketches. Just dirty sketches that get me into the flow... Sketching is just a way of thinking.... I wasn’t always good… If you just keep practicing, it is going to serve you very well and it will serve you better in time. It just takes patience, as everything
M: When you said that sometimes when you are sketching you thought you were going to be a failure at it, how did you overcome it? I know some students that have a brand new sketchbook and are so afraid of ruining the page because the sketch might look horrible. How do you overcome that fear?
D: I don’t know if I overcame that fear. I have it too. Not only beginners have that feeling. But I think it’s important to shift your mindset. Back then I was afraid of failures. I was afraid to fail. But now I'm actually happy to fail because I think failing and making mistakes is just a part of the process and it’s important. The more you fail, the better your result at the end. So I actually encourage people to fail as often as possible. That’s where you make mistakes, but that’s also where you learn. That’s how you grow and improve your designs and improve yourself as a designer. It’s applicable to any area of life.
One of the good advice I also give sometimes to people that are afraid to fail too much at sketching is creating the habit of creating one simply, crappy sketch a day. It doesn’t have to be nice. Just sketch for five minutes. You don’t have to put it online, or show it to anyone. Just for yourself and for the sake of sketching, for the sake of practice. Develop this habit and in one month, 6 months, you will be so much better. Fail as often and as early as possible.
M: Yeah… That leads me to the question… Do you need to be in an environment that you like in order to sketch? For you, what is the most comfortable you feel like sketching at? Do you sketch outside? At home?
D: I haven’t thought about this… Usually I connect sketching with working, with work. But… I don’t really have a particular space where I would be encouraged to sketch. I’m also not one of those guys who sketch a lot in sketchbooks, I like to have loose papers. I feel like there is a lot of fear in ruining the sketchbook too or ripping a page. So… I don’t use sketchbooks that much. Just plain papers and a lot of tracing paper so I can just iterate a design.
M: Hmm… I particularly like sketching while I travel. I usually also carry a sketchbook with me. I treasure my sketchbooks… I literally have around 20 that I keep in my room.
D: And are they empty or filled?
M: Oh no, they’re filled since like 5 years ago.
D: It would be so nice to see the progress of that!... There was also an interesting question about if I have any reference to study curves in perspective. I’d say to just seek outside of architecture to be inspired for architecture…. When it comes to curves, I’d be inspired in airplanes and boats… Things related to aerodynamics. These are very beautiful and functional curves. I think it’s important NOT to get inspired by architecture for architecture. It’s very limiting. If I want to design something fresh and unique, I would look for inspiration outside of architecture. I would be inspired by nature, by the people I’m designing for. Not by other architecture, I think it’s a very limiting point of view. It leads you to copying and copying is never better than the original. There are so many other ways to get inspired as architects.
M: Yeah, even in the relationship we have with one another. That’s extremely important for when we create spaces. The connection with one another,where people go, what they like….
D: Yeah! I agree. It’s important to study more and look at the bigger picture. It’s not about spaces, but spaces for people and their social interactivity, it gets more deeper than that.
M: Ok, another question I have is… How would you describe architecture in just a few words? For you particularly, what does architecture mean?
D: That’s a tough question. Since I was a student I developed a single definition which is creating spaces for people. It’s important to always talk about spaces, public, interior, etc… It’s always for people. We have to think about target groups, end-users, who we are designing it for. We create spaces for people.
M: What about in one sentence, a piece of advice you would give to an architecture student right now? Just one sentence.
D: In one sentence…. Learn to sell.
M: That’s a good advice.
D: The reason why I say that is because when you graduate and you’re looking for a job is that you need to sell yourself to be hired. You need to be able to present yourself through the benefits you can bring, to the values you share. Through the advantages the firm can get out of you. You need to think of it from their perspective, it’s about effective communication. I always have to think of the audience or whoever I’m talking to. To better explain your point of view. And I don’t mean it only in financial ways, it's not about money. It’s about presenting ideas. If you can find the points of struggles by the company, you can come in and say “Hey, I’m going to help you solve these issues, I’m going to do it like this, this and this…” “And your benefit will be you will work faster, more financially competent, whatever”… It’s about you bringing the benefits and you competing through them.
I say this also because nobody ever told me this while I was studying. They don’t tell you that in school. We’re lacking good resources on how to learn better communication and selling. Because honestly, that’s what you do. You sell yourself, your services, your ideas. Learn how to sell!
M: Hmm… I totally agree. Architects… Designers in general are always selling an idea… Selling what we do, selling ourselves. Everyone in general should know about selling, and about business.
And you know something else that they don’t teach you? Doing something that you really dream of outside of architecture. For example, they tell you -- you have to go to work, graduate and work the rest of your life and that’s it. But they don’t tell you how to do the things you’re doing. Having a side hustle and feel passionate about it and maybe then do that instead. What would you tell someone that is trying to pursue a side hustle, something they really want to do, their dream. And they believe that they have a job and need to be financially secure but don’t want to make that jump and see what happens.
D: I would say… The key is to educate yourself outside of your professional career. Just doing your personal projects on things that are outside of your professional career and educate yourself a lot. Especially in the area of personal growth and self development and shifting your mindset and look for opportunities. As they say… When you’re looking for a yellow car, you will see yellow cars everywhere. When you look for problems, you can see problems everywhere. And when you look for opportunities, you will see opportunities everywhere. So it’s about changing your mindset, and learning a lot about how to function better as a human being. Start with yourself and define your why. Why you do things.
As Simon Sinek says… Start with why. I do believe in reasoning and getting clear on why you do what you do. And if you’re not satisfied, why you;re not satisfied. Why not? I just recently found out how much I love teaching designers, after many years I knew it was there, but I recently had the realization. Self explore and explore the things that have always been there. And more education outside of your career. I would encourage people to try and become the best version of themselves. It’s a long journey but it’s worth it.
M: Thank you so much David, this was such an interesting conversation. One last thing though, where do people go in order to reach out to you? To go to your online course… Tell me everything about that.
D: SketchLikeAnArchitect.com, just one word. I’ll be putting more and more content but it’s already buyable. So go and reach out to me, I’m always happy to listen to feedback. So SketchLikeAnArchitect.com, and of course, my instagram @david_drazil where I’m always online.
