Sketching (12th printing): Drawing Techniques for Product Designers Hardcover – April 1, 2009

As a graphic artist and budding Industrial designer this book has been a joy to have and learn from; for the last couple of months I've started my day sketching with this book and a cup of coffee,this has been marital bliss.My sketching skills have improved considerably and I've found myself repeatedly telling myself, oh so that's how this and that is done, followed by I can do it !, followed by It only took me 5 minutes !The book itself has 2 distinct sections intertwined;a very loose lesson on the various aspects of sketching for product design, and case studies of actual product designers that incorporate some aspects of the lesson at hand.There is ample room for improvement though, while it is chock full of great graphics, photos and sketches,I would rather have had more reference sketches maybe even a compendium of shading,shapes and lightning ,and less case studies,it also lacks on the step by step department, and yes it follows no clear path and just trows itself recklessly into the subject;this is a book best read in small doses with some markers and paper at hand.In any case these flaws are easily overlooked by how useful and effective it is as a learning and reference tool.

I first heard of this book from an Industrial design forum I often frequent. People seemed to praise it for the great content so I knew I had to check it out for myself. When I finally received the book I saw that not only were the comment I had read true but that the book went above and beyond my expectations. This book is perfect for I.D. students, professionals and even someone who is learning how to sketch. It show cases a wide range of media and styles which allowing the viewer to see how to execute different techniques in a variety of ways. I think my favorite aspect of this book is the fact that the pages are very visual rather then text heavy. The notes that are there are great because they allow you to go a little bit more in-depth on the designers process and thoughts. I keep this book right by my drafting table within arms reach because it's great for those moments when you're not quite sure how to communicate an idea properly. Since I've bought this book, it's encouraged me to draw almost everyday and I can safely say that I have certainly seen improvement.

I was teaching drawing to a class overseas that had great skill. I needed to teach them better understanding of drawing and layout for product design and this is one the book that helped, the other two by Koss Eissena and Roselien Steur might be better (such as Sketching product design Presentation) but overall all each book adds a little extra knowledge.

I'm an industrial design students and this year, we weren't really required to buy design books. So, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to buy my collection of design books myself. This book is good for sketching references. The book has great instruction on the techniques and rules on perspective, rounding, and such. However, I wish the book had media instruction such as marker renderings or color pencil techniques. The grammatical errors that people have pointed out don't really bother me because I'm more of visual person. I process information well when I see how it's done, and this book does a great job showing different aspects of sketching in different industries.

This and it's sister book "Sketching the basics" are the BEST books on design!!! I am an industrial designer and I wasn't a great sketcher but these books have put me well ahead of the designers at my level!!! Not to mention all the sketches inside are designer eye candy, when i need to refrence something I often find myself flipping through the entire book, looking at all the pictures drooling!!! If you are in product design this book is a must have!

I purchased this for my husband as a gift. He is an architecture student with a growing interest in product / industrial design. He loves this book and others by the same author. It is filled with colorful illustrations, diagrams, examples, and explanations.

This is a great book for inspiration, and it has bucket loads of great instruction on the techniques and rules of such things as perspective, ellipse construction etc. What it didn't have, and what disappointed me, is an almost total lack of media instruction. Almost every sketch in the book is done in marker, yet there is no info (at least none I have found, and none listed in the index for the sections I haven't read yet) on how to properly apply smooth blocks of colour, or the best way to apply pastel. There is loads of info on drawing construction. I have to agree with other reviewers on here, the grammar, spelling and layout is quite atrocious in many places. I understand that English is a second language for the people who wrote it but that is no excuse. If you can't properly speak a language, hire someone who can to fix your mistakes. The other issue I have with it is that it is a (very) thinly veiled mass-promo for Dutch designers. Many of the accompanying real product examples have, in my opinion, tenuous at best relations to the drawing subject at hand, and they are almost entirely Dutch. Even the international companies featured, such as Ford, have Dutch designers working there and featured. I personally got way more out of "Design Sketching" by Erik Olofsson and Klara Sjölén from the Umeå Institute of Design.

This book is a must-have for any industrial designer whether you've been doing it for years or just started school for industrial design yesterday. I love the sketches in it. It's very inspiring and is a great reference when you are practicing sketching.