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THE ARCHITECTURAL ILLUSTRATOR BETWEEN DIGITAL AND ANALOG WORLDS
Abstract
This paper tackles the issue of the architectural illustrator in an age of post digitalisation, where the return to the analog hand drawn images for a more pregnant communication is seen by some as much desirable. There are now concerns about the limited communicative ability of digital images, with suggestions to go back to the analogic world of the hand drawn images in perspective style. To assess whether a digital photorealistic render would communicate better or worse than a hand drawn image, a questionnaire was set up based upon the objective principle of correct/wrong answers by the test takers, rather than on their subjective preferences. The test was a conventional one-stem multiple-choice type with correct answer scored 1 and wrong answer scored 0. The required task was to identify the correct architectural project within a townscape. The test was taken by 154 subjects, of which 74% professionals in the field of architecture, and 26% other professions. The “professionals” in architecture scored approximately 50% more correct answers in the case of hand drawn images compared to the photorealistic renders, with a very high significance between the two items (p<0.0001). The “others” showed a difference of 20%, still in favour of the hand drawn images (p=0.003). It may be concluded that, within the limits of the reliability and sensitivity of the test, the hand drawn images could better communicate the message of the architect. The “performance” strategy guarantees against subjective biases, but it has been much less experimented than the traditional paradigms. Some more research would be needed to assert its robustness, and, to this regard, this first attempt should be considered as a proof of concept to assess some observer’s reactions so far little explored but nevertheless of fundamental importance.
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