Drawing Together - Using Collaborative Drawing to Diminish Sketch Inhibition in Year One Students of the Bachelor of Architecture course at NTU.

Hand drawing is a vital tool for thought when designing, combining action, perception and cognition. 

Over reliance on technology has inhibited the students confidence and inclination towards hand sketching

The study was designed to reduce sketch inhibiton and increase confidence, community and risk taking in the students, through the process of collaborative mark making and shared experience.

The collaborative drawing sessions were run as part of the Design studio days in Year 1 of the Bachelor of Architecture Course in Term 1 of the course.

Method - Structure and Studio

Drawing equipment and rolls of paper were provided by NTU for accessibility.

The sessions involved the whole cohort, working in groups of circa 20 - 30 students, alongside staff

Lines of desks were set up with long rolls of paper down the centre, to change formal structure of the studio and help creativity.

Students could stand up to work to and facilitate easy movement and informality, if desired.

Drawing Activities were time limited between 2 and 5 minutes to promote fast, intuitive response and reduce overthinking

Sessions lasted from 30 – 45 minutes broken into short exercises.

Method: The Drawing Workshops

The challenge for each session was to completely fill the paper with marks and sketches

Each session commenced with a physical warm up. 

Students stood if possible and stretched their arms and rotated their wrists in opposing directions.

The sessions started with a mark making warm up, using strong horizontal and vertical lines. Students and staff worked alongside each other and then moved position to the left to take the place of the adjacent person.

Sessions focussed on themes such as:

Emotional Mark Making – where students would represent emotions visually on paper. Student then responded to each other’s drawings as they rotated down the paper

Drawing to music and rhythm, students were encouraged to dance/move and sing along to the music to enhance their response - many of them did!

Qualitative Observations of Students

Students were initially reticent to make marks on the fresh paper.

Confidence increased when students moved to work over another student’s work.

Cohort confidence and enthusiasm increased progressively throughout the collaborative drawing activities.

Student energy and engagement consistently peaked during the “drawing to music” activities, with many dancing and singing to the music.

In tutorials, some students were more confident to sketch their ideas, rather than explain them verbally.