Developing Your Design Process: Six key concepts for studio

Developing Your Design Process is your primary source for acquiring knowledge of how and why you design. It will help you understand how architects think as well as learn why you should educate yourself about design culture. You'll explore the spark of imagination that leads to a strong concept, realize the importance of sketching and rough drafts, focus your original concept to make your abstract idea visible, and finally step away for a moment to critically question your concept by identifying its strengths and weaknesses. You'll also be introduced to the language of design, architectural terminology, historic precedents, and designers, in addition to the why, what, and how of the design process.

The book is illustrated throughout with international examples of work by professionals and students in the discipline of architecture, and other related design professions.

Albert C. Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architectural Science at Ryerson University, Canada. He holds a PhD, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, in architecture with a subject area of history, theory and criticism, he has a main interest in representation and is author of the book Architectural Model as Machine.

Kendra Schank Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architectural Science at Ryerson University. With a PhD in architecture from Georgia Tech, she has written on representation, urbanism, architectural education, and media, and has published two books that explore the representational qualities of architectural sketches.