As AI tools, software and hyper-polished visuals dominate modern workflows, many designers are rediscovering the creative power of slowing down. Matteo Di Iorio of Interstate explores why sketching remains one of the most valuable and human parts of the design process.
Who’d have thought that in this brave new world, where design often begins with AI prompts, software and pixel-perfect mock-ups, a quiet rebellion would take place? Not on screens, but on paper, led by pencils and sketchbooks.
Since I started at Interstate Creative Partners five years ago, we’ve been deliberately slowing down the very beginning of projects. Instead of jumping straight into digital tools, we returned to hand-drawn thinking – sketching, writing, mapping ideas and letting concepts breathe before they’re shaped by software.
It’s a practice that recently proved its value when we collaborated with The Royal Mint to design a commemorative 50p coin celebrating 100 years of the British Grand Prix. This wasn’t a loose, expressive branding project. A coin is one of the most technically regulated design objects imaginable, with every line, texture and proportion governed by precision requirements. And yet the entire concept phase began not with CAD models or digital layouts, but with rough sketches and storyboards.
Speed, instinct and ideas without filters
For me, sketching has never been about artistic perfection. I’m the first to admit I’m not a great drawer – and that’s exactly why it works.
What sketching offers is immediacy. Putting down rough shapes and keywords is far quicker than opening software and choosing tools. More importantly, it captures gut feelings before they’re filtered through templates or technical limitations.
Sketching is about getting ideas out of your head and onto paper while they’re still instinctive and alive with no need for polish. Early drawings create space for experimentation and even happy accidents, and these moments can often disappear when designers jump straight to finished visuals. When something looks ‘complete’ too early, it becomes too precious, so people hesitate to change it, and exploration narrows.
On paper, everything feels temporary, and that freedom unlocks better thinking as there’s less pressure to finish the idea. You’re more relaxed, more curious and far more open to unexpected directions.
Letting ideas grow before locking them in
During the Royal Mint project, our sketchbooks filled quickly. We explored heritage racing cars alongside modern Formula One vehicles, shifting perspectives, layered textures, and visual timelines that showed how engineering had evolved over a century.
Some ideas were messy, and some barely made sense at first glance. Together, though, they formed a creative landscape where connections started to emerge naturally.
When we later reviewed the journey from first sketch to final coin, we even noticed that some of the ‘weakest’ early concepts had become the strongest through refinement. Designs that initially felt awkward or unresolved eventually shone once they were developed and sharpened.
It was an important reminder for us that good ideas don’t arrive fully formed. They need time and patience to reach their full potential. If we’d jumped straight onto our laptops and revved up the latest software, those ideas might not have survived long enough to evolve.
The danger of polished thinking
With AI tools and instant visual outputs now embedded in everyday workflows, I worry about what’s being lost, especially when it comes to spontaneity.
There’s a growing urge to jump straight to conclusions and see the final result immediately, rather than explore the messy middle. The problem is that skipping this rough exploration often yields one polished idea rather than five evolving ones, leaving far fewer opportunities for real innovation.
Even rough digital layouts can still encourage refinement too early; you start worrying about alignment, colour, typefaces and finish before you’ve properly tested whether the idea itself is strong. Sketching keeps the focus exactly where it should be: on thinking. Whether we are developing brand systems or presentation design for organisations like the Premier League, starting with hand-sketched flows and storyboards consistently results in clearer narratives than designing straight on screen. It gives you a holistic view before you get lost in detail.
Human imperfection as a creative strength
Beyond speed and ideation, sketching brings human imperfection back into modern design, something the industry seems increasingly to be moving away from.
Rough visuals without a doubt invite conversation. They keep clients open to interpretation rather than locking feedback into surface-level tweaks such as colour choices or font preferences. When something looks unfinished, I have noticed that people engage with the idea rather than the execution.
Sketches also allow accidents to happen, the likes of which often lead to better outcomes than anything you could have planned. In contrast, AI-generated visuals and highly polished mock-ups often feel resolved too soon and can close down discussion before it’s really begun.
Why slowing down moves projects forward
It might sound counterintuitive, especially in agency environments where energy is high, but slowing down at the beginning almost always speeds things up later. Spending even an hour or two sketching has clarified our thinking, helped us uncover better concepts and has prevented endless revisions further down the line. When ideas are properly explored early, our execution phases become far more focused and efficient.
I really do believe that pencil-first thinking acts as a creative reset. It reconnects designers with instinct and prioritises ideas over aesthetics. Ultimately, it reminds designers that the process, not just the outcome, is where real creativity lives.
