You’re in your studio, tools in hand―ready to act on the spark of inspiration. But tools have changed over the past thirty years. Hand-drawn with pencil and paper was traditional, and now there’s the mouse or the stylus and Wacom tablet with Illustrator or CAD. Do these new digital standards and efficiencies come with a creative price tag attached to them, and if so, what exactly is that price?

Research over the past few years has shown that the brain engages differently while writing using a pencil and paper versus digitally. Are these differences also reflected in drawing with a pencil and paper versus digitally? What specific parts of the brain are engaged? How does the brain process things differently? Understanding the neurological implications of how the brain works is critical to taking advantage of an optimum creative workflow.

As the jewelry marketplace gets more competitive, creative design is a primary differentiating factor, and the design bar is continually set higher and higher. This paper explores how our brains best process the creative spark of design inspiration, with an end goal of maintaining maximum creativity and productivity.

Author: Annie Koenig