In the early days of the digital revolution in graphic design, many designers and teachers of design were convinced that the era of drawing on paper was over – that there would soon no longer be a place for craft-based drawing at any stage of the design process.

It soon became apparent, however, that technological progress had not obviated the inherent value of drawing, and that, in fact, it opened up new avenues for convergent and hybrid drawing practices. This book traces the evolution of design-based drawing through analysis of a series of research projects from the 1980s to recent years that have sought to characterize the changing practices of design within various industries. Built on more than three hundred interviews with designers, academics and design students, and an exhaustive analysis of thousands of drawings, it aims to generate discussion around historical and contemporary models of the design process.