From Observing to Imagining the Opportunity of Freehand Drawing in Digital Era

摘要

When we lose the ability to draw, we lose a part of our ability to think. Based on this thinking, practicing freehand drawing is still the best way to maintain the mind, the eyes, and the hands in balanced working coordination, as basic thinking tools of architects in term of the design process. Generally, drawing can be divided into two types, observation drawing, and imagination drawing. As part of science, especially for an architect, it is believed that observation activity by freehand drawing is proven as an effort that would increase awareness of a countless number of things among the brewing phenomenon in this complex and complicated of world development today, including digital development in the design process. Furthermore, in term of drawing as a way to emergence the imagination thinking, very important to understand that freehand drawing was performed a central function in the creative process, even a speculative idea. The aims of this paper are to discuss how the role of freehand drawing in improving the quality of thinking in term of the design process, as well as providing ideas for the emergence of critical and effective awareness by observation drawing activities and appropriate images by imagination drawing, in the midst of the development of today's digital era. The discussion was conducted through qualitative descriptive analysis based on experience carrying out freehand drawing courses and some freehand drawing activities. The topic about the role of drawing in the digital era is very strategic because it will remind us of the importance of the role of balance cognition for the general design process.