Do You Speak “Thumbnail”? April 27, 2010, by Chris Pelicano in Design
Most designers and illustrators I know still think with a pencil (or digital stylus) in their hand. They brainstorm and concept by doodling and roughly sketching the ideas that come to mind. This simultaneous process of thinking and sketching allows creative minds to meander productively ... recording bits and pieces of ideas that will later be developed into finished designs and illustrations or set aside as mental stepping stones for future brainstorming sessions.
I find this process fascinating and very organic. It is like watching free-range thoughts ... or more often, half-thoughts, or maybe bits and pieces of thoughts. As such, thumbnail ideas are both intimate and dangerous things: intimate, because they may be connected to personal convictions, beliefs, and memories ... or dangerous, because, in their unrefined state, they can be provocative or polarizing. In either case, they are the raw product of a mind allowed to explore ideas without the constraints of self-criticism and censorship ... which is naturally applied later.
Thumbnail sketches communicate preliminary thinking. They are an integral part of the design process. They are not about style or drawing ability, they are about content, and most often only nascent content ... the beginnings of an idea. As such, thumbnails are not usually for public consumption or for showing to clients. They are a crude language that can only be spoken between people whose thought process leaves plenty of room for further improvement and refinement. But, among those who speak thumbnail, they are great for exchanging a variety of concepts quickly.
My intention is to offer our readers an ongoing sampling of working thumbnails (or rough sketches) and their corresponding finished products. I will post them without much explanation, allowing them to speak for themselves. At times the thumbnails will show a definite progression of thought, development, and refinement. At other times, it will be more difficult to see the connection between the rough idea(s) and the finished art. In either case I hope you will find them interesting.
Who knows? Over time you may learn to speak "thumbnail". Enjoy!
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