Research carried out by Professor Charles Spence, Head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University has found that for most people taking photographs on holiday results in digital amnesia where a scene is taken and then forgotten. In contrast using more than one sense, such as drawing, which involves both vision and touch, can lead to more enduring memories as the use of more than one sense connects our emotions to the artefact. As a designer this is not entirely surprising, the act of drawing means that attention is given to the details of the scene and the relationship between drawer, drawing and drawn. This is an intimate process in which the brain both processes and interprets information through the filter of choice. In making marks on paper the observer is choosing what to put in and what to leave out, what to emphasise and what to ignore, what viewpoint to adopt and what to communicate.
You can read more about the study in the following newspaper article. There is a fun quiz at the end to help you gauge how connected your own senses are. Are you one of the rare people who have synaesthesia, do you hear colours and taste shapes?
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