Drawing as a Language in the Design Process: a Cognitive Bridge Between Thinking and Representation

Saime Gümüştaş Babalı; N. Ömer Erem

doi:10.26375/disegno.16.2025.10

Authors

Saime Gümüştaş Babalı Department of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7448-5213
N. Ömer Erem Department of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26375/disegno.16.2025.10

Keywords:

design process, representations, verbal-visual, drawing, inter-language

Abstract

The design process is inherently representational; drawing and similar tools reduce cognitive load and enable the generation, recording and reuse of ideas. This process supports the internal dialogue that fosters innovative solutions. Representations have both external forms, such as drawing and modelling, and internal forms, such as imagination and thought, while language is a crucial tool that guides the processes of thinking and doing. While verbal expressions convey abstract thoughts and provide insight into the problem, visual representations concretise abstract ideas. This study analyses the transitions between verbal and visual representational languages, examining how ideas are transformed into representations, what comes to the fore, and what is left behind in this process. The ways designers structure ideas, the gaps that occur in the transitions between representational languages, and the ways they cope with these gaps are revealed through an examination conducted through drawing and physical modelling. The study positions drawing as a bridge between languages, moving it beyond being a mere representational tool in the design process, and focuses on the role of drawing in framing, organising and translating design ideas, making it an indispensable component of
the discovery process.

References

Avidan, Y., Goldschmidt, G. (2013). Talking architecture: language and its roles in the architectural design process. In A. Chakrabarti, R. Prakash (Eds). ICoRD'13. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, pp. 1139-1150. India: Springer.

Barelkowski, R. (2010). The Integration of Visual and Verbal Thinking Architectural Values Revived. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.4964.7043.

Binder, T. et al. (2011). Design things. Cambridge (Mass.): MIT press.

Bolt, B., (2004). Art Beyond Representation: The Performative Power of The Image. London: I.B.Tauris.

Cash, P., Gonçalves, M., Dorst, K. (2023). Method in their madness: Explaining how designers think and act through the cognitive co-evolution model. In Design Studies, No. 88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2023.101219.

Cikis, S., Ek, F. I. (2010). Conceptualization by visual and verbal representations: An experience in an architectural design studio. In Design Journal, No. 13(3), pp. 329-354. https://doi.org/10.2752/146069210X12766130824975.

Cowan, J., (2006). On Becoming an Innovative University Teacher - Reflection in Action. London: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.

Dong, A. (2007). The enactment of design through language. In Design Studies, No. 28(1), pp. 5-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2006.07.001.

Eco, U. (1992). Açık Yapıt, Çev. Yakup Şahan. İstanbul: Kabalcı Yayınları.

Evans, R. (1986). Translations from drawing to building. London: Architectural Association.

Fan, J.E., Bainbridge, W.A, Chamberlain, R., Wammes, J.D. (2023). Drawing as a versatile cognitive tool. In Nature Reviews Psychology Vol. 2, Issue 9, pp. 556-568). Nature Publishing Group. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-023-00212-w.

Goel, V. (1995). Sketches of thought. Cambridge (Mass.): MIT Press.

Goldschmidt, G. (1991). The dialectics of sketching. In Creativity Research Journal, No. 4(2), pp. 123-143. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419109534381.

Goldschmidt, G. (2004). Design Representation: Private Process, Public Image. Cham: Springer.

Gonçalves, M., Cash, P. (2021). The life cycle of creative ideas: Towards a dual-process theory of ideation. In Design Studies, No. 72, 100988.

Grignon, M. (2000). Deux brouillons : le croquis et la maquette. In Genesis, No. 14(1), pp. 153-163. https://doi.org/10.3406/item.2000.1142.

Herbert, D. M. (1988). Study Drawings in Architectural Design: Their Properties as a Graphic Medium. In Journal of Architectural Education, No. 41(2), pp. 26-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/10464883.1988.10758473.

Hornecker, E. (2007). Sketches, drawings, diagrams, physical models, prototypes, and gesture as representational forms. In Second International Workshop on Physicality, Vol. 87. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:5571000.

Krippendorff, K. (2005). The Semantic Turn: A New Foundation for Design. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203299951.

Lee, J. H., Gu, N., & Ostwald, M. J. (2019). Cognitive and linguistic differences in architectural design. In Architectural Science Review, No. 62(3), pp. 248-260.

Magalhães, G. (2014). Discussing the design through drawing. Transitional desire and procedural trajectories. In Blucher Design Proceedings, No. 1(5), pp. 657-662.

Brereton, M. (2004). Distributed Cognition in Engineering Design: Negotiating between Abstract and Material Representations. In G. Goldschmidt, W. L. Porter (Eds). Design Representation. London: Springer: <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-85233-863-3_4> (accessed 18 June 2025).

McKim, R. H. . (1997). Thinking visually : a strategy manual for problem solving. Santa Fe Spring (CA): Dale Seymour.

Oxman, R. (1997). Design by re-representation: a model of visual reasoning in design. In Design Studies, Vol. 18, Issue 4, pp. 329-347.

Özçam, I. (2022). Designer Identity: Reflection with Verbal and Visual Representation Systems. In Online Journal of Art and Design, No. 10(1): <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349311135_Designer_Identity_Reflection_with_Verbal_and_Visual_Representation_Systems> (accessed 18 June 2025).

Paivio, A. (1978). The relationship between verbal and perceptual codes. In E. C. Carterette, M. P. Friedman (Eds). Perceptual coding, pp. 375-397. Cambridge (Mass.): Academic Press.

Porter, W., (2004). Designer’s Object. In G. Goldschmidt, W.L. Porter (Eds) Design Representation. London: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-85233-863-3_1.

Rodeia, T. B. (2019). Thinking as Drawing – Reflections on a Drawing that No Longer Exists. In Athens Journal Of Architecture, No. 5(4), pp. 367-390. https://doi.org/10.30958/aja.5-4-3.

Rykwert, J. (1998). Translation or representation. In ARQ, No. 63, pp. 64-70.

Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New Tork: Basic Books.

Schon, D. A. (1992). Designing as reflective conversation with the materials of a design situation. In Research in engineering design, 3(3), 131-147.

Schön, D. A., Wiggins, G. (1992). Kinds of seeing and their functions in designing. In Design studies, No. 13(2), pp. 135-156.

Song, N. (2012). From Seeing to Painting-An Analysis on the Characteristics of Pen Drawing Education at Chinese Architectural Universities. In Applied Mechanics and Materials, No. 121, pp. 853-856.

Starkey, B. (2013). From Models to Drawings. London: Routledge.

Tomes, A., Oates, C., Armstrong, P. (1998). Talking design: negotiating the verbal–visual translation. In Design Sudies, Vol. 19, Issue 2, pp. 127-142.

Tsow, D. & Beamer, L. (1987). Verbalization and Visualization: A Need in Architecture Education. In Journal of Architectural Education, No. 40(2), pp. 80-81. https://doi.org/10.1080/10464883.1987.10758445.

Van der Lugt, R. (2005). How sketching can affect the idea generation process in design group meetings. In Design studies, No. 26(2), pp. 101-122.

Visser, W. (2010). Visser: Design as construction of representations. In Collection, No. 2, pp. 29-43.

Woo, H. R. (2021). Visualization of conceptual thinking with its verbal / visual information for design development. In Bulletin of Japanese Society for the Science of Design, Vol. 48, Issue 2, pp. 43-50.