Sketching an idea quickly
Design & Technology · Key Stage 2 · The School
A quick sketch is not a final drawing
A QUICK SKETCH exists to get an idea out of your head and onto paper fast, in seconds rather than minutes. It does not need straight lines, shading or a ruler. Its whole job is speed, so more ideas can be tried before choosing one to develop properly. Nobody else needs to understand a quick sketch except you, at this stage.
Several ideas beat one careful one
The very first idea is rarely the best one. Sketching five quick, rough ideas usually produces a better final choice than spending the same time perfecting just one. Quantity of ideas, at this early stage, matters more than the quality of any single drawing. It is easy to fall in love with the first idea simply because it exists.
Choosing the best idea
Once several quick sketches exist, compare them against the design criteria written earlier. Which one is easiest to make? Which best fits the user? A bad idea sketched quickly costs nothing; a bad idea built fully costs a great deal — sketching first is how that cost is avoided.
Task: sketch five different pencil case ideas in five minutes, one minute each. Idea one: a simple pouch. Idea two: a tin with a lid. Idea three: a roll-up fabric case. Idea four: a box with compartments. Idea five: a case that folds out flat. None is finished or neat. But comparing five rough shapes against "must stand up on the desk" instantly rules out two of them — a judgement no single careful drawing could have offered.