When I was 12 years old, I persuaded my father to allow me to convert a section of our home’s unfinished attic into my bedroom. Up to that point in my life my only experience with actual construction was observing my father and his friends build a new family room for our house when I was 7. Oh… that, and fabricating a few Cub Scout Pinewood Derby racers.
So, in reality I convinced Dad and his friends to actually build me the new room and I would help the best I could.
Luckily, the “code police” cannot go back in time to penalize me as the project architect. Access to the attic was via the typical flimsy plywood folding ladder that so many American houses feature prominently in our residential ceiling designs. That was impractical as a daily entrance, so a 3 foot by 3 foot hole was cut into the floor, a permanent ladder was crafted and a hatch door was installed. I designed it to have a fireman’s pole too, but that was “value engineered” out of the project by my mom.
I loved that room.
Knowing that I wanted to practice architecture as a career, I had a white fold-up drafting board at a very early age. I spent hours at that board drawing all the hopes and dreams of my future; muscle cars, fast boats and contemporary houses.
The ability to draw by hand is a gift. Only a few possess the skill to put pen to paper and create a recognizable illustration. Hand drawing is an art at which others marvel and it’s a tool that we should be using to promote our services as architects.
In addition to our best built work, our websites should feature our best hand renderings. The seductive texture of our illustrations identify us as artists in the minds of our clients.
When meeting for an initial project interview, original art drawn by hand sets us apart from the competition who may be showing off their latest purchase of 3D rendering software.
Have you ever experienced the joy that our clients express when we pull out a roll of trace and sketch our ideas, right there on the table in front of them? We are gods creating, developing ideas and solving problems one squiggly line after another.
Ever since sketching out those original plans for my private loft hide-away, I’ve been using my skills in hand drawing to persuade and convince. It worked for my dad so many years ago and it still works today with each new client we sign.
Do you use hand drawing to market your firm? What other ways may our businesses benefit by using our artistic skills? Please share your thoughts below in the comments. I look forward to learning from your lessons.
Great post! I started my business eight months ago. It wasn’t until last month that I made the connection that my hand drawings were winning me projects almost 100% of the time. I have a hybrid practice that is design + real estate so most of my clients have property but can not envision how to develop it. I recently started to incorporate hand drawing in my printed marketing and across social media channels like Instagram and Facebook. My followers are great at sharing content and referring business to me. A quick sketch that is scanned in or photographed is a great way of engaging my fans and staying top of mind.
Do architectural firms still use hand drafting or sketching? If yes, can you suggest me some firms as I’m interested in working under firms which consider hand made works above CAD drawings.
I will be very much interested too..
I’ve always been very fond of hand drawing throughout my career and I am sure many of my projects were commisioned because of this ability.
…one of my favorite subjects. I couldn’t agree more.
I intentionally placed my own sketches on my website instead of other project images to do just what you stated. My portfolio section has mostly images, why not use the blank space on the other pages to show process?
Yes, we need to show that we draw as a communicative tool and maybe, just maybe the sketches won’t be too bad to look at either.
It is an excellent tool for conveying your concepts and ideas and interpret your client’s visions as well.
One who is skilled in hand drawing also manages well his or her time schedule during design studies and planning stages.
During construction I often issue hand sketches as architects instructions. I love getting away from the computer on such occasions and clients and builders alike seem to appreciate the skill.
After years of watching my boss amaze our clients with his ability to hand sketch design solutions in meetings, I’ve made a conscious effort to do the same for my own as well. Seeing the clients eyes light up never gets old. This is indeed a very important and valuable tool and agree it can and should be featured in our marketing efforts. Thanks for posting your thoughts and story!
As one of the few architects to have finished a BFA in drawing, painting and art history, the skill has been with me all along justifying my place at the table. The artistic point of view is that I’ve prostituted my talent, selling it to the highest bidder. Fair. The profession considers me a validification of their desperate artistic credo, as my Cad models are transformed into davinci drawings in seconds. The public seems to think its the mark of the humanist genius of my ex employers who’s real strength is country club connections (ahem..social capital). I did it because it’s way faster. In my own practice, now that REVIT and max makes such great 3d renderings I don’t bother anymore, Sorry Prince Charles enthusiasts. When asked where those lovely little watercolors went, I say the same place your design budget went. Drawing the figure is way more interesting on my own dime. My name … is Sketch Boy.
In my 40 years of involvement in the construction industry, I’ve always gotten on my knees and bowed for these that possess the ability to bring the project to life on a piece of paper. It is a sight to behold. Thankfully for those of us that are pencil and paper challenged there is 3D CAD software. I’ve been using a software called Chief Architect for 20 years and have gotten pretty good at getting the job done. The one thing that I really enjoy as I model buildings it to use the hand drawn, water colored 3D views rather than the rendered, photo quality views. It looks like I put more effort into the project when I present the hand drawn look to clients, and it leaves more to the imagination. However, I will confess that it does take longer to do than it does for those that have the gift to bring projects to life using the mighty pencil.
It is a good idea to use thinks like this as a marketing tactic – however, “gods”… really? I completely get where you are coming from and I do see a value in them that is often untapped. I’ve found these days hand drawings are a tool of the ARTISTIC Architect vs. the Entrepreneurial one. Interesting to see the value so many architects have placed on these. I do not believe that the consumer public holds them in the same esteem.