An Exploration Into How and Why Drawing Works
Can you see more because you can say more?
Jonathan Mills is the Director of the Product Design Department in the University of Kentucky's College of Design. With a primary focus on design research methods and projects, his studio courses focus on understanding complex ecosystems and identifying strategies for design intervention. Recent projects include sustainability in the outdoor industry and design opportunities in the global public health context, as well as environmental quality issues and virtual reality for design research. His personal research interests include the links between drawing, cognition, and communication (which form the basis for this site), as well as developing new frameworks and methods for design research and communication activities.
*Note: I completed the work you'll find here one decade ago, and while it satisfied the requirements for a degree and was approved by a small but dedicated committee, it has never really seen a wide audience. This site is simply an online version of my graduate thesis, meant to open a conversation about a topic which I still care deeply about and which still I believe has applications outside of the design profession. Perhaps, in some way, I'm hoping that by making this perspective available more broadly that the conversation will grow. I welcome any feedback, questions, comments, disagreements, etc. that readers feel is worth sharing about this topic.