man vs. machine

The increasing speed of 3d modeling software challenged me to read plans and drill into to the heart someone's design ever faster. But a John Henry-style characterization doesn’t seem valid. Handmade alone may no longer be time-efficient, but digital alone doesn’t feel humane -- feel, not look. The richness and emotional appeal of illustrations that employ a hybrid of techniques should be an encouragement to designers as well as illustrators to employ the best of both modes. It's surprising how few people knew the blend of myth and history around John Henry, that steel-drivin' man. Just the name starts a song in my head. Here's a radio clip on John Henry from Studio 360.

spring fever

Something came up with a project that was illustrated last fall. I pulled up the images and the hills were all golden brown. None of that! They're green now.

what's wrong with this picture?

At lunch the other day, an urban developer pondered, "What's with this designing on computer? I call our architect to ask what his thinking is on the changes we're making. He sends me a computer drawing. All I want to see is a sketch, a drawing of the facade! We're not getting anywhere."
What's wrong with this picture? They both want to move the design along. The developer wants feedback on how a recent discussion is playing out in the design. The architect is taking his client's commentary and implementing it in the building system. Yet the drawing-as-reply did not scratch the question's itch.

Is this a case of media preference, like preferring handwritten notes to typed? Kindle to hardcover? But isn't more information carried by handwriting than typing?Drawings in this post are random examples and bear no relation to the architect or developer in this narrative.