The Birth , or say just an initial idea, can be a few pencil strokes, some brightly coloured shapes, or an arrangement of forms. In any way, it is the very first chat of an architect with himself about his intentions and thoughts for the proceeding design. 

This newborn expresses thoughts in an unbound and free manner, it can be a single thought, which comes on paper as one simple sketch, can be a series of concepts , maybe drawn as a few sketches forming a story, or it can be a cluster of ideas with the apt one yet to be filtered from amongst the many scribbles.

The Toddler, growing fast, yet holding the purpose and purity of ideas, at this stage the sketch has a vague direction, but with a pace. This is the stage leading towards the clarity of the design concept and is indeed crucial for the process. Given the fickle minded nature of a toddler, this stage either leads to the further one or makes the architect reconsider his/her very first thought, sometimes it leads to iterations of the same idea. Either way it takes one forward.

As chaotic this stage seems, it is really fun, one can have a new perspective towards their first thought and can explore more options by bringing ideas to paper, that’s what makes the concept concrete and forms a story.

The teenager, now confident with its bold lines and a much defined concept of design , this stage can be stubborn and one might feel stuck even after figuring out the base.

The teen sketch seems perfect, but sometimes can break the pace of the design process by being so seemingly perfect. This is the stage of criticism and analysis, be it by oneself, professors or clients. And as we know, teens are not very welcoming to constructive criticism, too proud to accept any changes.

This stage can be the closest one to the design concept, and that’s what an architect desires , for his/her design to be as close as possible to the finalised concept. But designing is a back and forth process, one has to lose the rigidity of this achieved perfection and accept criticism so that the design can gain some depth in terms of space, aesthetics and technicality. 

The Young Adult, now comfortable and welcoming to criticism, the design achieves its own character and develops further not only in aesthetics, but in practicality as well, the earlier sketch is now a well drafted layout, with dimension and technical issues resolved, somewhat approved by the critics and ready to be reviewed for design aspects.

This stage is the one where most changes happen, suggested by clients/professors. Whether the architect agrees with them or not, these changes shape the final design before it comes to life.

The adult, the serious , to the point grown up, formed by picking up the apt scribble, the apt form and shape and most importantly the constructive criticism, this stage presents itself as well drafted drawings, in technical terms-plans , sections, elevations and construction drawings.

This is the stage of the design coming to life, either by building it or presenting it in front of a jury. 

These are the stages an architect or an architecture student goes through in the process of design development, strenuous, frustrating , testing, but enjoyable and in the end, worth the brainstorming.

Comic Description/ Narration written by Shakshi Khandal 

Comic Illustration/ Storyboard by Sumita Sinha