“…You draw, better be Picasso, you know the best. Cause if this is not so, ah, god bless.”
An essential tool to a designer is their sketchbook; it is an extension of their mind. Their sketchbook is a place of capturing whatever is captivating to them and sparks a thought. The pages are forever filled with thumbnails, clippings, quotes and ideas that have to be brought out of their mind and put onto the page. Continue reading Design Insight: The Sketchbook…
A sketchbook can be used for many things. I tend to use mine more for note taking and story building. It helps me to organize my thoughts and realize what they really are. Sometimes the thoughts and images in my head are very abstract, it is important to capture them so I can realize what they can become.
I used to not like sketchbooks because I did not like the paper, I did not like carrying them. Even in college I hated them, so I would carry folders of loose paper with me to be ready to draw. I just didn’t understand what they should really be used for. Then I had anatomy class and the sketchbook was mandatory, 80% of my grade to be exact. Now, because of that class, I cannot live without mine. Rarely I am without my moleskin and, if I am without it, I have my iPhone. Which works great because I can take photos, notes, draw and do research with it.
What follows here are pages from old sketchbooks. The stuff you are about to see is all at least two to five years old. I cannot legally show any current work because New Balance is the owner of it. So what I have here is work from my college years, mostly from my sophomore year (2005), my senior year (2007), and from the summer before NB hired me. With that being said, I have learned a lot since then, so don’t critique too harshly.
B
Sketching
A sketch is defined as a preliminary drawing for later elaboration. Sketching is the genesis of the design, where the creativity begins. My sketches are my thoughts and represent what I envision a project becoming. They can be anything from aesthetic or to how I think the shoe can be constructed. I tend to start out with an abstract idea and then at some point while I am drawing I realize what it can become and that makes me want to sketch more. What makes sketching fun to me is capturing the excitement of a new idea and making it become a reality.
Collecting
I am constantly collecting images. I try not to limit myself; I collect whatever inspires me and can or will relate to a project. My sketchbook provides a great place to keep these images and take notes on what about those images inspired me.
Anatomy
My favorite subject to draw (outside of shoes) is the human body. I love it because it challenges me and I feel it directly relates to footwear. Drawing the body is all about proportion; similarly, good design relies so much on the proportion of graphics and patterns.
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Brett Golliff is a Designer 1 at New Balance
Check out previous “Design Insight With Brett Golliff” posts:
- Allow Me To Introduce Myself…
- Design Insight: Inspected (Inspired) by #23
- Design Insight: Art or Theft?
- Design Insight: Examining The Forces…
Your college sketches are AMAZING. Love to see more of your work.
Definitely my favorite “Design Insight” post so far! The anatomy sketches are beautiful, man. You did some nice sketching in college. Hopefully NB lets us see some of your current work in the near future!
your sketches are super sick. wish i could draw like that
I can seriously look at sketches all day long. Very impressed with your work, sir.
I come here on Ck every Monday for this post. The design aspect your covering adds alot to the site and is appreceated. Glad NB is letting you do it.
You’re work is incredible. Im still working on my hand drawing skills. the Pics here are inspiring stuff to keep working at.
nicest post i seen. luv the Jay line!!
Crazy nice pics. Post more if you can,its dope to see your work and thought process
…I don’t want to see your current stuff!
This one already amazes me!!!!
Great stuff Brett!
Ciaoooo
Thanks for all of the positive responses! I really appreciate it.
B
once i got started on moleskins, i never looked back either! outstanding post. looks like you got the passion AND the talent too. amazing work.
WOW Brett you’re the Picasso of this decade and like I said time ago, you,Tinker and Wilson Smith are still my 3 fave footwear designers..
WOW Brett Awesome drawings! really dope technics!
I especially love the part you draw your inspiration from fashion shoes and the foot anatomy research!
jordan and ali drawings are very good. thanks for sharing it
amazing stuff, as usual, brett. what size is your sketchbook, 8.5 x 11? i love that your sketches vary from rough to the straight up rendered. thanks for the inspiration and motivation!
Nice post!!
Thanks for the all of the positive comments!
CO.TM-
What you are seeing up there is a little misleading, those are three different sketchbooks so they are different sizes but they are formatted to fit the size of images we use for the website.
The shoe sketches are created in the Moleskine Plain Soft Notebook (Extra Large); which is roughly 7.5 x 10. The note taking and collecting is the same type of book just the next size down, its 5.5 x 8.25 (Large). I like the way marker and ink is absorbed on these papers and they are so thin you can take them anywhere.
And then the anatomy is in a sketchbook that is roughly 14×11. It is different paper, kind of like craft paper. I really love the way you can build tone in these books because the paper is already a base flesh color, so it allows me to really build and add a lot of depth relatively easily.
I used to have a variety of sketchbooks but they have now been consolidated into to 2.
B
really nice stuff. does your employer know you’re doing this? why in the world would they let you? this is like a love note to recruiters.
well until you get that call, nb needs your help big time.
Love your post, look forward to it every week.
The practice of Sketching says a lot about the designer. Your passion and talent, thoughts and vision are captured for that moment . . . and it’s obvious you are diligent in this practice both then and now.
Great stuff here, really enjoy your work! Thanks for sharing.