This has always intrigued me due to the vast number of ways people can tackle a project. Do you play around with physical models first? Do you digitally start designing random shapes based on the program until forms appear? Do you look at Pinterest as a base reference for ideas? Do you simply visualize in your mind what you want it to be?
I’d love to hear your ideas first and then I’ll input what my particular strategies include!
Non Sequitur
May 11, 20 8:30 am
Sit on my patio with a cigar, single malt scotch, and a sketchpad. All about keeping the mind sharp without technological aids IMO. Comes in handy when you have to think on your feet in front of clients.
citizen
May 11, 20 1:20 pm
I read the OP three times looking for "sketch" or "draw" in there somewhere. But Pinterest features prominently. Yikes!
Non Sequitur
May 11, 20 1:42 pm
I get the appeal of Pinterest. IT's in your face and the internet sorting magic works well but it's curated and slightly (or very) lazy. I find that boxes you in too early. Clients don't pay us to browse pinterest.
midlander
May 12, 20 10:20 am
i use pinterest when there's a part of the design i'm not ready to dig into yet but want to have images to suggest directions to a client. if we can sort out early on whether they prefer earth tones and naturalistic landscaping or shiny things with hard edges, that lets me focus better later.
mightyaa
May 11, 20 12:57 pm
I always start with the site plan and context of the area. It's going to dictate a lot of things at the outset like entry, utilities, waterflow, parking, height, landscaping, views, slope, appropriate aesthethics, rough budget (due to how buildings are appraised), etc. Then I go to bubble diagrams, then doodles, then rough floor plan and massing...
senjohnblutarsky
May 11, 20 1:10 pm
I design everything in my head long before anything hits the paper.
And a note on the OP... If a real architect is going to Pintrest for design inspiration, I am deeply saddened.
citizen
May 11, 20 1:13 pm
Amen.
SneakyPete
May 11, 20 1:22 pm
*looks at some of the presentations received upon joining team for projects*
tduds
May 11, 20 1:34 pm
Pinterest is a great resource for finding precedents that are similar to what you've already started imagining. It's not a good place to begin your imagining. I find too many designers use it for the latter purpose, which is creating a weird homogenization of trends that just keep reinforcing each other.
SneakyPete
May 11, 20 2:52 pm
It's also a sad place to discover dozens of idiots cannibalizing each other's bad ideas.
tduds
May 11, 20 4:22 pm
Coincidentally I just thought up an idea for a picket-ish fence in our front yard and then found a similar enough photo on Pinterest to convince my wife that we should build it. It has good uses!
tduds
May 11, 20 4:22 pm
My minimalist tastes and her pastoral sensibilities are making for a very fun home.
mightyaa
May 12, 20 11:52 am
I use pinterest (and a variety of online photos) for the look book/material board; basically a tool to narrow down on the design sensibilities of my client and/or materials I'm suggesting. Sort of like verbally describing a finish versus a nice photograph of that finish.
x-jla
May 11, 20 1:27 pm
I obsessively imagine the space like a cinematic scene, over and over, changing each time, a woman in a dress walking through, brushing hands across a surface, sun reflecting off water, birds chirping. Then I reconstruct the set from my imagination while adapting to real world constraints, refining, testing.
citizen
May 11, 20 1:29 pm
To sketching I would add listing as part of my process. So many factors enter the equation that I now worry about keeping track of important things as they occur to me. Site, context, program, budget, regulation, logistics, contacts, form, systems... these and other aspects each have a dozen or more possible items (specific to a project) to deal with eventually.
Chad Miller
May 11, 20 5:45 pm
I'd second that. My design sketches have notes all over them regarding all types of things to consider, coordinate, ect. Heck, some sketches of mine are wee little drawings and a page of text.
citizen
May 12, 20 1:42 am
Sketches are the best place to list, and vice versa!
gibbost
May 11, 20 2:02 pm
I adhere to a pretty strict, uh, drug regimen to keep my mind limber.
Chad Miller
May 11, 20 2:36 pm
It all depends on the project. Generally speaking for me its a balance of form follows function and taking my cues from the surrounding context.
Regardless of the project I am always sketching.
randomised
May 11, 20 3:54 pm
Most of it happens in my head, I try to come up with an overall method, idea or concept for the brief that will inform every decision that needs to be made and when the deadline approaches and anxiety gets a hold of me I start production.
Ask the question that needs a design solution (in my head) and go back to work or doing whatever....it will come to me.
This isn't some hippy spiritual bullshit, this is essentially asking your brain to continue working a problem while you consciously focus on other things. This is essentially what a dream is. Consciousness isn't the only way to think.
For my part the above was a practical solution through college as I usually worked 2+ jobs and took way too many classes (to avoid being a degenerate) and was often half awake anyway.
The downside is, I have no real practice selling the creativity in person like most designer's would, so not a great solution either. Professionally I've accidently pigeonhold myself into the Technical (makes money).
The creative aspects have to be consciously rationalized or post-rationalized and then sold with charm, like a Bjarke might do.
Unless you're somebody, you can't just show up and drop the plans or renderings in someone's face and go - that's it - pay me.
liberty bell
May 12, 20 8:48 am
Source: internet meme that struck me so close to home I’ve remembered it for years. I googled “all the work...” and autofill finished “...while crying” for me.
midlander
May 12, 20 10:17 am
sketch a quick reaction, usually a plan and key view. massing study models, circulation sketches or site analysis. then research - see what's been done in similar situations. what works well or doesn't. then sketch again, model more.
i find actually i have to stop myself from sketching and push on modelling / drafting. the "fuck off" time on Donna's is very easily filled with adorable little sketches that don't advance the design one bit. good ideas tend to be intuitive and quick to come up - making good ideas real is the key challenge of architecture.
Hello everyone!
This has always intrigued me due to the vast number of ways people can tackle a project. Do you play around with physical models first? Do you digitally start designing random shapes based on the program until forms appear? Do you look at Pinterest as a base reference for ideas? Do you simply visualize in your mind what you want it to be?
I’d love to hear your ideas first and then I’ll input what my particular strategies include!
Sit on my patio with a cigar, single malt scotch, and a sketchpad. All about keeping the mind sharp without technological aids IMO. Comes in handy when you have to think on your feet in front of clients.
I read the OP three times looking for "sketch" or "draw" in there somewhere. But Pinterest features prominently. Yikes!
I get the appeal of Pinterest. IT's in your face and the internet sorting magic works well but it's curated and slightly (or very) lazy. I find that boxes you in too early. Clients don't pay us to browse pinterest.
i use pinterest when there's a part of the design i'm not ready to dig into yet but want to have images to suggest directions to a client. if we can sort out early on whether they prefer earth tones and naturalistic landscaping or shiny things with hard edges, that lets me focus better later.
I always start with the site plan and context of the area. It's going to dictate a lot of things at the outset like entry, utilities, waterflow, parking, height, landscaping, views, slope, appropriate aesthethics, rough budget (due to how buildings are appraised), etc. Then I go to bubble diagrams, then doodles, then rough floor plan and massing...
I design everything in my head long before anything hits the paper.
And a note on the OP... If a real architect is going to Pintrest for design inspiration, I am deeply saddened.
Amen.
*looks at some of the presentations received upon joining team for projects*
Pinterest is a great resource for finding precedents that are similar to what you've already started imagining. It's not a good place to begin your imagining. I find too many designers use it for the latter purpose, which is creating a weird homogenization of trends that just keep reinforcing each other.
It's also a sad place to discover dozens of idiots cannibalizing each other's bad ideas.
Coincidentally I just thought up an idea for a picket-ish fence in our front yard and then found a similar enough photo on Pinterest to convince my wife that we should build it. It has good uses!
My minimalist tastes and her pastoral sensibilities are making for a very fun home.
I use pinterest (and a variety of online photos) for the look book/material board; basically a tool to narrow down on the design sensibilities of my client and/or materials I'm suggesting. Sort of like verbally describing a finish versus a nice photograph of that finish.
I obsessively imagine the space like a cinematic scene, over and over, changing each time, a woman in a dress walking through, brushing hands across a surface, sun reflecting off water, birds chirping. Then I reconstruct the set from my imagination while adapting to real world constraints, refining, testing.
To sketching I would add listing as part of my process. So many factors enter the equation that I now worry about keeping track of important things as they occur to me. Site, context, program, budget, regulation, logistics, contacts, form, systems... these and other aspects each have a dozen or more possible items (specific to a project) to deal with eventually.
I'd second that. My design sketches have notes all over them regarding all types of things to consider, coordinate, ect. Heck, some sketches of mine are wee little drawings and a page of text.
Sketches are the best place to list, and vice versa!
I adhere to a pretty strict, uh, drug regimen to keep my mind limber.
It all depends on the project. Generally speaking for me its a balance of form follows function and taking my cues from the surrounding context.
Regardless of the project I am always sketching.
Most of it happens in my head, I try to come up with an overall method, idea or concept for the brief that will inform every decision that needs to be made and when the deadline approaches and anxiety gets a hold of me I start production.
wandering and sketching -
Sketch. Break. Revise. Sketch. Revise. Dream. Break. Break. Revise. Sketch.
Ask the question that needs a design solution (in my head) and go back to work or doing whatever....it will come to me.
This isn't some hippy spiritual bullshit, this is essentially asking your brain to continue working a problem while you consciously focus on other things. This is essentially what a dream is. Consciousness isn't the only way to think.
For my part the above was a practical solution through college as I usually worked 2+ jobs and took way too many classes (to avoid being a degenerate) and was often half awake anyway.
The downside is, I have no real practice selling the creativity in person like most designer's would, so not a great solution either. Professionally I've accidently pigeonhold myself into the Technical (makes money).
The creative aspects have to be consciously rationalized or post-rationalized and then sold with charm, like a Bjarke might do.
Unless you're somebody, you can't just show up and drop the plans or renderings in someone's face and go - that's it - pay me.
Source: internet meme that struck me so close to home I’ve remembered it for years. I googled “all the work...” and autofill finished “...while crying” for me.
sketch a quick reaction, usually a plan and key view. massing study models, circulation sketches or site analysis. then research - see what's been done in similar situations. what works well or doesn't. then sketch again, model more.
i find actually i have to stop myself from sketching and push on modelling / drafting. the "fuck off" time on Donna's is very easily filled with adorable little sketches that don't advance the design one bit. good ideas tend to be intuitive and quick to come up - making good ideas real is the key challenge of architecture.