By: Design Studies Institute Staff
Sketching is a means of communication in the design world. Luckily, sketching is more accessible than you might think. On January 6th, 2026, the Design Studies Institute held an online workshop on “Sketching and Communication in Design.”
In the workshop, Ar. Rachana Vaja broke down how simple shapes can communicate ideas quickly across UX, product, architecture, and visual design. The first activity involved a verbal description of a design idea. Then, Vaja did a rough sketch to demonstrate how the sketch allowed better understanding even if it artistically wasn’t “good.” This first activity immediately set up the idea of: “If you can think, you can sketch” Through more demos , and the Q&A session at the end, Vaja emphasized the power of visual communication for designers.
View the full workshop recording below and grab a pencil and paper to sketch along!
