Hatch lines can be a series of lines indicating shade cast on an object or the shadow an object casts. They suggest modulation in light on a surface when it is not possible to add color with a marker or digitally. Hatch lines are generally used to convey quick initial ideas and hatching generally uses straight lines for purposes of speed, regardless of an object’s shape, but can also be drawn to refl ect its surface identity. The more tightly packed the hatch lines are, the darker the resulting surface will read. As the lines move further apart the illusion of shade cast on the object fades. Hatch marks can be applied loosely and expressively to reinforce the freshness of the sketch.
Fig. 17
Scott Wilson’s quick sketch for the Nike Presto digital bracelet uses hatching to create volume and depth while also suggesting material changes.
Fig. 18
These sketches by Matthew Boudreau for Reebok’s V12 training shoe demonstrate the simple but effective use of hatch lines to suggest form while differentiating surfaces. The designer has to meld high performance into an aesthetically pleasing fi nal product which requires a lot of quick sketches from a variety of vantage points.
Fig. 19
Light rays are projected much like orthographic and perspectival sketch geometry. The height, distance, and angle of the light source directly affects the length and shape of the shadow.
Projecting shadow lines
Lines are essential for both projecting and shaping the shade and shadow on objects. The series of cubes below (fi g. 19) shows the connection between projection lines and the outlines of the actual shadows. The light source is positioned where the lines converge, creating a “triangular wedge” effect that moves as the height of the light source changes and the rotation around the object is altered. It is convenient to think of the shortest edge of the triangle as being the pivot point (red arrow in the diagrams). As the light swivels the shadow swivels with it. The actual shadows are the direct result of two sets of projection lines in alignment along a vertical axis. Projection, like everything discussed so far, is essential to the creation of shade and shadow.
Fig. 20
The coffee carafe sketch above shows how light rays intersect with the sketch geometry as it is projected on to the fl at ground plane to create the outline of a believable shadow.
Fig. 21
The pen concept sketches by Omer Haciomeroglu employ light hatch lines to suggest volume, shade, and shadow. The absence of hatching can effectively suggest a highlight.
Pivot point Higher light source results
in shorter shadow
Placement based on table surface Placement based on height of light
Letting the line reinforce the story
This entire chapter has been devoted to the richness and variety of line, which remains the most powerful element of sketching. It can be a tool for registering objects accurately in space or an expressive mark suggestive of volume and weight, but it can also be laid down in a tentative and provisional way to simply start the thinking process. Designers sometimes need to mull over the marks they make, responding to their potential. Orthographic sketching, discussed in chapter 3, is way of giving form without resorting to perspective. This remains one of the fastest ways to get ideas out because the focus is on one or two views only, allowing the designer to develop a rapid succession of thumbnail sketches that can be translated later into perspective. This also relates directly back to the earlier discussion about dominant views and the psychology of sketching in chapter 2—the fact that we recognize and retain idealized forms of objects more easily (which tend to be orthographic). Here we will explore the generation and refi nement of form through repetition and revision.
Repetition and revision
The dominant view is a great place to begin the ideation process, laying down broad strokes to establish the primary geometry of the product as well as the overall proportions. Large gestural marks help establish the underlying look and feel of a design. Line weight is crucial at this stage: the underlying gestural marks should be the lightest, the outline of the product the darkest, and the interior details somewhere in the middle range.
“Sketching through” the object in perspective view is critical for placing accurate geometry; sketching past the “envelope” of the product in orthographic view adds fl air and feeling while not constraining the designer at the early stages of concept iteration. Lightly sketched lines or arcs help to quickly capture the
Fig. 23
This series of sketches for a hand-held rotary grinder begins with the basic massing of form through very light lines and arcs, to help establish the general layout and possible aesthetic of the product. The subsequent sketches add detail and variation while remaining consistent with the original massing.
Fig. 24
These sketches show a typical exploration of a hand tool (pruner). Notice how the designer has laid down a series of arcs and lines to help establish the look and feel of the product. While the differences may seem subtle, explorations like these are essential in creating products that are not only highly functional (correct layout of mechanical components) but are also aesthetically pleasing. Sketches by Daniel Lipscomb for Fiskars.
Fig. 22
In this perspective sketch the arcs extend beyond the form as part of the dynamic sketching process but also as a way to emphasize the dominant curves that defi ne the form. (TEAMS Design, Chicago.)
essence of an idea and require little time commitment, thus allowing the designer to move on if he or she is not satisfi ed with their work. Once a successful layout is established, the designer can tighten up proportional relationships and begin a higher level of detailing or move on quickly to another variation. These initial marks are like the regulating lines some architects use to help generate form.
They are not to be confused with “ghost lines,” which are more tentative in nature and structural; instead they are suggestive of the essence of the design.
Open-endedness is as important as speed. Early in the design process it is vital to get ideas out quickly and in quantity, for review as well as refi nement.
These sketches need to convey the essential nature of the design idea to a range of collaborators including other designers, project managers, engineers, marketers, and so on. Quick sketches often capture the feeling and spirit of an idea better than refi ned ones, and the speed and ease with which they are created give them a kind of magical quality. Because a concept will go through multiple fi lters of refi nement, including physical models and prototypes, it is crucial to keep the expressiveness high in early conceptualizations. Up until now the focus has been on accurately transforming orthographic sketches into perspectival sketches by carefully building them section by section. Once the ability to do this is internalized, the designer needs to sketch without the safety net of underlying ghost lines and carefully constructed sections in order to create more expressive sketches focused on the overall form of the object.
While no single line defi nes a three-dimensional object, the brain is still greatly infl uenced by the power of outlines. Dominant orientations—like side views for automobiles—are crucial to any iconic profi le being recognized. The loose sketches below and right show how Philippe Starck’s Masters series for Kartel merges three mid-twentieth-century modern chairs into one hybrid or mash-up chair. The main difference between his chair and the three referenced chairs is that the latter are all volumetric masses while Starck’s design is
completely linear except for the seat pan. Whether or not his chair can be seen in the other three chairs can only be answered by the individual viewer. For those familiar with the classic chairs shown, it would be hard not to see the references;
they just might need to take a second glance.
Fig. 25
Philippe Starck’s Masters chair for Kartel is particularly interesting in terms of line. It is as though the shadows of three of the most recognized chairs have been merged. Starck said: “The Masters chair brings to mind the lines of three great masters and three great masterpieces. Putting them all together, they create a new product, a new project, a refl ection of our new society.”
Fig. 26
Starck’s Masters chair is based on the outlines of three classic mid-twentieth-century modern icons:
the Series 7 from Arne Jacobsen; Charles and Ray Eames’ Eiffel chair, and the Tulip armchair from Eero Saarinen.
James Dyson’s name is synonymous with the “bagless” vacuum cleaner and the dual cyclone technology that makes it function. And while his approach to design is prototype intensive—he worked for 15 years through more than 5,000 prototypes to refi ne his bagless vacuum
technology—he has also relied heavily on sketching. In his autobiography Against the Odds, he recounts his trip out to a sawmill where a cyclone dust collector was installed. He “made some sketches by moonlight and climbed all over it to determine exactly how it worked, what the proportions were, and what it was made of.”
The DC25 is an example of Dyson’s relentless search to improve a product that remained dormant in terms of technological development for decades until he came along. The DC25 and its “ball” technology allows for far greater control of the vacuum cleaner, especially in the many tight spots encountered in living spaces.
Commentators have noted some similarities between the DC25 and Dyson’s fi rst attempts at developing his own products. What makes Dyson a great designer is his attention to detail and his ability to ask simple questions like: Why does this work and can it be applied to this other problem? Today, Dyson is a global manufacturer of a range of household products from vacuum cleaners and washers and dryers to his most recent product innovation: the bladeless fan.
DC25 Vacuum Cleaner
(Above) Early concept sketches for the ball vacuum, and (right) the fi nished product.
Vessel Ideation is a boutique design studio, based in Chicago, which specializes in the creation of high- impact ideas that inspire emotional connections between global brands and their consumers. This translates most commonly into structural packaging that supports company brand messages. The montage of images represents Vessel Ideation’s entry for the 2009 World Kitchen Tea Off (which they won). The process begins with a range of quick conceptual sketches, followed by tighter orthographic drawings to work out overall proportions and functionality, another round of form- giving, model-making, computer-aided design, and, fi nally, rapid prototypes.
Vessel Ideation
Putting line and
orientation together
Using the example of a shampoo bottle, we will combine line and orientation in order to understand the design’s geometry. The quickest and simplest approach is through a series of front and side-view orthographic sketches that require the designer to focus on only one view at a time (front, side, or top view). Moving from left to right, making either small or large changes is easy and fast and permits broad experimentation combined with the ability to review concepts side by side. Isolating a single component (like the cap) and moving between orthographic and perspective can also be effective.
In this sequence, the approximate bottle shape is quickly and lightly boxed in to establish the overall footprint of the form, followed by the most essential curves from the two orthographic views. Details are then added to the basic wireframe. A tight sketch like this can be rendered in Photoshop in less than ten minutes to provide a higher level of fi delity.
Developing concepts orthographically is quick and allows easy comparison across a range of concepts. Details can be quickly sketched in 3D if necessary (below).
1. Determine which geometry would be most helpful in getting the sketch started. In this tutorial, the box will be eliminated in favor of simple lightly sketched planes. This method makes it faster and less confusing. The seasoned designer needs no scaffolding to sketch.
2. Sketch only what is needed —speed is essential.
The two primary outlines are sketched on a plane with a centerline for symmetrical placement. The orthographic sketch is truly symmetrical. The back half of the perspective sketch that is further from the viewer is foreshortened. Sketch an ellipse to represent the bottom.
3. Now is a good time to sketch the top view to work out the geometry. Transfer this section (ellipse) into the perspective sketch as a reference for the profi le that passes through the center plane. Using the top section, sketch the profi le so that it connects top and bottom sections. The same must be done for the back profi le.
4. With the top section in place, add two additional sections placed accordingly to help place the compound curve that defi nes the top.
These two references will greatly assist in sketching the curve by supplying points of contact at the centerline and side profi le curves—much like the compound curve of the Pringle.
5. With the close-up it’s easier to see how the compound curves touches the three points of contact formed by the ellipses as it winds its way around curving in two directions at once like a roller coaster. Try to sketch this lightly as one continuous curve to achieve a smooth compound curve that does not look choppy.
6. Using the center profi le, sketch a quick ellipse (the major axis is vertical). This is just a reference sketch for placing the convex surface that will form the grip for opening the top as well as the concave surface (affordance) for placing the thumb or fi nger while opening. Make the reference sketch as light as possible.
7. Construct the convex surface with three simple sketches: an ellipse that forms the bottom, a center arc to defi ne the depth, and a compound curve that pulls it all together. Keeping these sketches light makes it less likely to get confused when sketching the fi nal compound curve.
8. Sketch the outline in a bolder line weight, careful to touch the various elliptical sections at tangent points. The outline is one large compound curve that creates a boundary which unites all the earlier sketches. Using a lighter line weight add in contour lines to help defi ne the radiused top and bottom and grip.
9. Retrace if necessary to eliminate any unwanted lines and to differentiate the line weight even more. Ghost lines can add volume to a sketch if they are very light otherwise they can confuse the viewer depending on the complexity of the sketch and the amount of scaffolding required to create it. A simple line can add depth.
Top view