ARTICLE/BOOKS: The Cognitive Benefits of Doodling

[Ryan Goble]

In addition to the rage of adult coloring books (see Coloring Books for Existential Angst) there a some new books about the benefits of doodling as it relates to literacy and learning. From the Atlantic:

When computers entered the mainstream, some art schools abandoned drawing classes to make time for the new software they had to teach. The arrival of state-of-the-art programs prompted backlash among those who’d argued for years that drawing is integral to literacy. “When you draw an object, the mind becomes deeply, intensely attentive,” says the designer Milton Glaser, an author of a 2008 monograph titled Drawing Is Thinking. “And it’s that act of attention that allows you to really grasp something, to become fully conscious of it.” Anyone who has put pen or pencil to paper knows exactly what Glaser is talking about.

Two new books tout the benefits of drawing, sketching, and doodling as tools to facilitate thinking. While a spate of branded and bespoke blank sketchbooks, journals, and pads meant for drawing are also sparking something of a renewed interest in the practice. Perhaps it’s a kind of artistic rebellion over the supremacy of computers and digital media. Or, maybe the need to draw is simply hardwired into human brains. Arguably, making graphic marks predates verbal language, so whether as a simple doodle or a more deliberate free-hand drawing, the act is essential to expressing spontaneous concepts and emotions.

The books review in the full article are Sunni Brown's  The Doodle Revolution and John Hendrix's Drawing is Magic