Class Introduction to Design Techniques

The course Introduction to Drawing Techniques develops through two areas which, although initially approached independently, become related throughout its development. The first focuses on learning and practising different drawing techniques as an activity with its own cognitive, technical and gestural characteristics. The second focuses on transferring the characteristics acquired through this practice to basic exercises in project thinking. This relationship allows drawing to be explored in the specificity of its techniques while also being used as a means of developing basic forms of organisation and development of project thinking. This approach is innovative because, on the one hand, it broadens the cognitive activity developed through drawing and, on the other, initiates an approach to design as a project-based activity.

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The contents are organised into three groups, developed through exercises involving two polar dimensions and different levels of complexity: cognition through drawing and cognition through project thinking. Throughout the year, the exercises progress through the use of different drawing media and supports. In each group, the same concepts are explored through drawing and transferred to basic project exercises. 1. Framing and scale Exploration of the concepts of framing and scale in the representation of forms, considering dimensions, proportions, relationships between whole and part, and the selection of what is represented. 2. Fragmentation, repetition and deconstruction Exploration of these concepts in the representation of forms through the division, repetition and reorganisation of elements. 3. Points of view and context Exploration of these concepts in the representation of forms, considering changes resulting from different positions of observation and contexts.

The teaching methodology is based on the cognitive correlation between two distinct activities: the practice of drawing and project thinking. Each exercise develops, on the one hand, the learning of drawing in its cognitive, technical and gestural characteristics and, on the other, the transfer of this learning to basic exercises in project thinking, oriented towards the understanding and creation of practical solutions. The same concepts are therefore practised in two different areas, allowing students to recognise how knowledge acquired through drawing can be used in a project activity. The methodology is innovative because it does not confine learning to the techniques and practices specific to drawing, but transfers the acquired cognitive, technical and gestural abilities to an activity of project thinking. This transfer broadens the cognitive exercise of drawing while simultaneously initiating an understanding of design as a project-based activity.

Aristides, J. (2011). Lessons in Classical Drawing: Essential Techniques from Inside the Atelier. Watson-Guptill. ISBN 978-0-8230-0659-5. Simblet, S. (2005). The Drawing Book: An Innovative, Practical Approach to Drawing the World Around You. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-1-4053-0630-0. Aristides, J. (2006). Classical Drawing Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice. Watson-Guptill. ISBN 978-0-8230-0657-1. Eissen, K., & Steur, R. (2019). Sketching the Basics. BIS Publishers. ISBN 978-90-6369-534-7. Robertson, S., & Bertling, T. (2014). How to Render: The Fundamentals of Light, Shadow and Reflectivity. Design Studio Press. ISBN 978-1-933492-96-4. Varnedoe, K. (1990). A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-0-8109-3106-0.