A design diary is a sketchbook that is updated daily with thoughts, references and ideas. As the name suggests, the key point here is that it is treated like a diary and is personal, honest and complete. Some ideas in a design diary will be quickly recorded and never referred to again, while others will have more value and be reworked, developed and enhanced.
By virtue of its nature, a design diary collects ideas and drawings chronologically. Doing so allows concepts to be referenced over time and provides a record of how a project develops and evolves. At certain points it may be necessary to pause, reflect and reconsider the design direction.
A design diary allows the process of the project to be traced back as a lineage of design development.
Project: Design diary Designer: Adam Heike Date: 2005
This page from a student design diary has composite images created from overlaid sketches, models and drawings of a design proposal. The images also contain research references. The range of different photographs and sketches explain the thinking behind the architectural idea and have been collaged together to create an overview of the idea’s development.