Hot take: should we still draft with pencil and paper or go all digital?

I tried switching to a tablet for drafting layouts last month and my lines got way cleaner, but I kept losing my place switching between layers. My coworker swears paper is faster for quick markup changes on site. Which side do you lean towards when a client needs a rough plan on the spot?

2 comments

2 Comments

emery19913d ago

Maybe it's just me but this whole paper vs. digital thing gets blown way out of proportion. Like, it's just drawing lines on something, you know? I've seen guys with an iPad and a fancy pencil make a total mess of a site sketch and then some old timer with a chewed up bic and a napkin nail it in thirty seconds. On the other hand, I've also watched someone spend five minutes trying to find the right brush on their tablet while the client is standing right there tapping their foot. So really, what's the crisis? Whichever way you can get the idea across without looking like a lost puppy is probably the way to go.

fiona_murphy13d ago

Had a guy on a job last month who pulled out his ipad and spent 15 minutes trying to get his stylus to sync while the homeowner just stood there. I handed him a stubby pencil and a piece of scrap wood and he had the whole layout done in two minutes. The tool doesn't matter if you can't just get to work. Keep a backup option in your truck, a notepad and a sharpie, something that doesn't need a charge or a wifi signal. That little trick has saved me more times than I can count.