Having grown up from a very early age painting, drawing and doodling, I never really put much thought into how my fine art background played a role in my work as a graphic designer, or maybe I just took it for granted.
Just the other day while reading the introduction of the book, Logo, Font and Lettering Bible by Leslie Cabarga, I came across an interesting statement that made me stop and think about how an artistic background enhances my work:
“The difference between a designer and an actual artist is, a designer can indicate preferences and arrange preexisting graphic elements but cannot draw well enough to bring his best visions to fruition by his own hand. A designer’s inability to draw may also unconsciously limit his ability to conceptualize.”
While still on the thought of this statement and how it effects my own work, I asked my graphic designer followers on Twitter to submit an example of their work if they also come from a strong artistic, drawing background. Here’s what they had to show, with links to their website and Twitter accounts.
Also, I am always on the lookout for contributors for upcoming posts, so if you would like to participate on future articles subscribe for free by email or RSS and/or follow me on Twitter.
Von Glitschka (@vonster)
Kyle Richardson (@enrichdesign)
Andy Mangold (@andymangold)
Blake Tallos (@blakeanthony)
Ivy Knight (@margeeta)
Juhi Chitravanshi (@vedica)
Joe Akers (@bcollective)
Fernando Lins (@fernandolins)
Sara Colleran (@dickgenius)
Adam Garcia (@adamrgarcia)
Kumail Hunaid (@kumailht)
Scott Gamble
Omar Mena (@chomas22)
André Castelo (@andrecastelo)
Monfa Cabrera (@monfa)
Robert Wilson (@robertwilsoniv)
Sharon Samples (@artgyrl)
Simon Wild (@simonwild)
Jonathan Lackey (@zuno)
Oran Parker (@oranparker)
Leon Lloyd (@leonrlloyd)
Dave Mott (@dmott70)
Wan Kimm Cheng (@cwkimm)
Roger Haus (@rogerhaus)
Jason Tang (@freaksigner)
Patrick Micka (@pmicka)
Omair Rais (@omairrais)
Justine Galvez (@juzgalvez)
Galang Wibowo (@gustopo)
Gilbert Ruiz (@gilbertruiz)
Sandra Van Winkle (@SandraVanWinkle)
Thadd Fiala (@thadd_f)
Brian Hoff (@behoff)
Really lovely stuff here. Nice work everyone!
great work! cool idea. veemp. drawing is so much fun i love it!
No offense to your book, but this is total hogswash. Some designers may not be able to draw well, but obviously many can. On the other hand, I’ve never seen any indication that merely being able to draw well makes one a good designer. Some people draw well and are natural designers too. Some people draw well and are not natural designers. And some natural designers can’t draw well.
Amazing collection!
I somewhat agree with D Bnonn Tennan, obviously not all designers are great artists (myself included), but that doesn’t make them ‘bad.’
I don’t have the gifted ability to put my ideas on paper with a pencil, but that doesn’t mean I can’t visualize what I want. My computer skills are strong enough that I can work with the tools available to me on it to allow my idea to come to fruition.
Either way, great design is great design, and great art is great art. Love the post.
Cheers
Fabulous! I used to feel I needed to hide my non-commercial creativity as it was not perceived as good business to put out there your ability to create something not predefined by design - conversely art not having been shown at an art gallery…but my world in design has really opened up and I see the connected industry embraces all forms of creativity from designers and this post is just one great example. A lot of designers are simply ‘creatives’ who know how to design, and by this I mean practicing a true design process that can be applied to any medium across disciplines. This quote limits the idea of design to visual design as the functionality of a designer…just not so! A lot of design disciplines require a varying balance of artistic sense and design application.
Really inspiring .. good collection to share
thanks
Really lovely work, thanks for sharing!
The people that draw hair / eyes here do it really well.
Nice compilation!
Awesome post - I am really glad you put this together. I think you proved your book wrong and I am glad. Just because someone has an eye for design does not mean that do not have the skill to draw or paint works from their imagination. It probably just means they like to design!!!
Thanks for posting my little sketch! I’m honored to be listed on such a respected website. I love the Logo, Font and Lettering Bible by Leslie Cabarga! I’ve read it several times and always return to it for inspiration and techniques. There are some great designers here, and again, I’m honored to be in such great company.
CREATIVE MIND NEVER RESTS….. great collection
Some seriously talented designers featured here!
I love Von Glitschka’s style, and Thadd Fiala should be out illustrating books.
Amazing… These are pure masterpieces of art. But, i think even this deserves to be in this list. These are pencil sketches, but stunning works of art, nevertheless. Be sure to check ‘em out
http://cataclysm-x.deviantart.com/gallery/
Thanks for featuring my Beatles drawing, although alot of this work puts mine to shame. Great article. I particulary like Juhi Chitravanshi, Omar Mena and Brian Hoff’s drawings - very creative.
Thanks for including me on this one. Definitely not enough time to draw as much as I’d like.
Thanks for featuring me, great collection!!!!
Neat collection.
Wow! Thanks for featuring my work.. It’s the first time someone posted my work in public. Doodling gives me a relaxing feeling unloading stress in my body.
Great article!
Thanks for the inclusion. It’s cool to see the personal art work of other designers.
Great compilation! And pretty neat idea for a blog post too!
Do check this out too: http://simplyarun.deviantart.com/gallery
Wow. That looks great.
Thanks for featurnig my work here. I’m quite agree with your statement “A designer’s inability to draw may also unconsciously limit his ability to conceptualize.” But however, i do agree with D Bnonn Tennant as well as I do came across with good designer who don’t really know how to draw.
In my limited experience I find that designers that can draw are not limited at all, but designers that cannot draw are limited in their choice of solutions, because of being unable to visually articulate what is in their head.
I believe the ability to draw can be a developed skill if you are already artistically bent. It is to a large extent the development of hand/eye coordination that comes with training and experience. That doesn’t mean you can become a noted artist, but you can get better at expressing yourself visually. Designers are visually oriented people, and I would find it terribly frustrating not to be able to express myself that way. I am the “white board king” around SPAR because I immediately go to the white board in bullpen sessions to express my thoughts.
Lane
@lanecasteix
how could I have not been included?
http://www.davidplattart.com
There is some great talent here. What an awesome post!
Someone else you might enjoy checking out is @AshrafGhori.
http://bit.ly/30sq6W
I like the Andy Mangold one. It seems cool
A good post, which makes you think. Personally I can only doodle, drawing is for me limited to the PC. But I do wonder, if I could draw better in real life, would my desings on the PC improve as well?
I find that I work with the tools I have, so I’ll generally only do what I know how to do. That’s one thing I’ve got to break myself of.
While my artistic skills aren’t that high, I tend to be able to critique the artistic creations of myself and others. I can use that to improve my art through a series of iterations.
One thing I’ve noticed is that most artists seem to draw very dark things. I think my general lack of displeasure inhibits my artistic leanings.
I have an illustrator that I use that is really good, check her work out on http://www.carys-ink.com Very good for a non designer.