It takes just a quick glance, maybe a couple of seconds, for someone to evaluate your idea or design concept. In this short time, the other person forms an opinion about your idea based on your confidence, your experience, and the way you are presenting that specific idea.
The first impression can be nearly impossible to reverse or undo, making the right first impression is extremely important, for they set the tone for any client relationship that follows.
So, whether they are in your design career or social life, it's important to know how to create a good first impression.
You can have the best idea but if you don’t know how to present it you can’t sell it.
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao Spain sketched by Frank Gehry
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and so the "idea" you first present says much about you to the person you are meeting. There are many different ways to present the idea/concept but the basic one is just as simple as a quick but convincing sketch with white paper and dark ink. Is your sketch saying the right things to help create the right first impression with the client?
Having the ability to sketch in front of the client will showcase that you are able to put an idea on paper. You don’t have to be the best sketching artist it is the way that you communicate the idea and a client will understand what you are trying to say. Frank Gehry is a great example of this. Every time he is presented with the location of a project he sketches the idea, then he develops that idea into something more clear until the idea is finally completed.
I am not by any means Frank Gehry and I can’t compare my skills with his skills but this is how I always start my design process. It doesn’t matter if I am designing a logo or a family room I always start with a pen and paper. I want to know - Do you sketch?
Shoal Point Residence – Sketch by Iván Meade