The Importance of Design Presentation

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Exam boards no longer have a section of marks students can achieve for their presentation skills. My personal opinion is this is wrong as it has lead to pieces of coursework in KS4 and 5 being text heavy with often little teaching attention given to how to present ideas clearly and effectively. In professional design industries, design boards, models and portfolios are centre stage to group discussions and client pitches. To be able to effectively communicate visually is essential and goes hand in hand with creating excitement and engagement from the client.

I talk about the 'wow' factor in my lessons and spend time discussing the need to 'attention grab' with the quality of presentation of design drawings. This is something students are often very confident with when using CAD but I fear hand sketching skills are taking a back seat. In my department we have recently invested in pro-markers and I have taught rendering skills to KS5 students. Not only has the presentation training helped give their portfolios an edge but it has also increased their confidence and their creativity.

'With ever-advancing software and AutoCAD at our fingertips, some might wonder if drawing is a dying art for architects and interior designers. We are firm defendants of drawing by hand and here’s why; sketching is a way of processing thought.'  - Wylde Architecture

There is always at least one student in every class who says early on 'Miss I can't draw' and then builds an invisible wall around themselves with a reluctance to try. It could be argued that is getting harder to break down this wall due to other options students have available to them in the form of CAD. Once I have managed to convince them that everyone can draw and equipped them with a tool box of hints and tricks it is immensely rewarding to see them create ideas on paper by hand and hopefully empowering for them as designers. 






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