Redefining Interior Designer's Profession: iPad Drawing, White Space and Personal Brand | Interview with Henry Gao

Welcome to another episode of my podcast!

Meaningful conversations with architects, artists, and designers.

Meet my today’s guest — Henry Gao from YouTube @HenryGao

Henry is a home designer, YouTube creator, architecture photographer, and illustrator. His new passion is teaching online iPad drawing for architects.

“Today, I am a San Francisco-based home designer, illustrator, artist, and photographer. I take every bit of inspiration from my childhood into my everyday work. I don’t just design spaces – I tell stories through them.”

In our conversation, Henry redefines the path of architects, focusing on personal brand and creativity over traditional norms. He encourages architects to explore new roles by matching their interests with possibilities. Managing various roles, Henry shares tactics to prevent burnout and maintain a fulfilling career. We also discussed top drawing apps for iPad, making design easier across different project stages.

In his interview with Eric Reinholdt from "30X40 Design Workshop", Henry shares the art of creating "white space" amid architecture commitments. Architects are guided to find time for learning, exploring, and testing new things. Link to that interview: here

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Drawings by Henry Gao, learn about sketching on iPad from Henry in his workshop: here

Watch also Henry’s video "My 4 Streams of Income as an Architectural Designer” :

Stay connected with Henry online:

Website: www.henrygao.com

Instagram: @drawwithgao

YouTube: @HenryGao

Interview with Henry Gao by Olga Sorokina.

P. S. Please share this interview with someone you know will benefit from it.

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Interview #6 with David Drazil, sketcher and architect from the Czech Republic

David's Instagram: david_drazil

David’s website: sketchlikeanarchitect.com

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1. Olga Sorokina (O. S.): David, could you please tell us how did you come to architecture and what was your initial step in hand rendering? 

David Drazil (D. D.): First time I started thinking about studying architecture was in high school, in art lessons, where we were taught how to draw perspective for the first time. I think I was around 15 years old at that time. We learned how to draw 1-point and 2-point perspective with an urban theme - typical street view and corner view. I remember being so amazed by that, can't really explain why, but I fell in love with that process. So since then I was pursuing architecture path which eventually led me to studying architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague. Right at the CTU I was given proper basics of architectural sketching which strongly influenced and shaped how I sketch today.

“Free-hand sketching brings so much more freedom to both sketching process and the dialogue that evolves from it”

2. O. S.: Your style is very bold and recognisable: black and white, freehand lines, no rulers. Could you please tell us about media you use and how it affects your approach if it does.

D. D.: Yes, I really prefer not to use rulers, because free-hand sketching brings so much more freedom to both sketching process and the dialogue that evolves from it. I perceive sketching as a means of communication more than anything else. And free-hand sketching with wavy imperfect lines leaves a lot of space for opening a creative dialogue - either between colleagues or an architect and a client. The imperfections suggest that nothing's set in stone and that everybody is welcome to contribute with their own inputs.

As for media that I use, it's usually Staedtler Pigment Liners in thicknesses from 0.05 - 0.8 mm and if I go for colour, then colour markers TOUCH.

3. O. S.: Could you please describe your process of creating sketches (and how long does it take), for example this one:

D. D.: The process differs according to the type of sketch. There are many types, most of them are for communicating ideas, but some process sketches are simply for brainstorming, trying to understand a problem and come up with a solution, or for further shaping and verifying ideas that emerge on the way.

“I begin either with a pencil or a pen to create a visual structure and set the right scale”

If we talk about presentation sketches like this one (took about 40 min), I like to start with a thumbnail sketch where I first try to find the best composition in terms of relations between different elements and positioning on a canvas. Depending on complexity, I begin either with a pencil or a pen to create a visual structure and set the right scale. Then I use pens with lighter line weight to build up the main volumes and work with different depth planes. I continue with texturing and shading, adding more of surroundings and details. Final touches might include line work with heavier line weight for emphasis and contrast or optionally use of colour.

4. O. S.: How do you structure your workday or your workweek?

D. D.: Right now I work full time as an architect in Copenhagen so my main schedule is determined by that. But usually I get up earlier to sketch or plan and structure the goals for the day/week. I'm still finding my way around juggling with more balls at the same time as I have some smaller projects and collaborations on the side. Ideally I try to plan these things in advance every weekend for the coming week, but it doesn't always work out ;) I'm also more of an evening person, so I find myself with sudden energy around 7 or 8 pm, so that's when I'm actually most productive about these things.

5. O. S.: David, please tell us about your sources of inspiration. What helps you to be productive?

D. D.: As for sources of inspiration, I believe that architects shouldn't get inspired by another architecture - that's very limiting. Don't get me wrong, it's important to do recherche and moodboards with reference pictures, but that's not inspiration in true sense. In regards to this, there is one quote from architect Edmund Bacon, which really resonates with me. He says: "It's in the doing that the idea comes." It really does work like that for me - I get ideas during the process, very often as I sketch, because there are no barriers as with using a software on a computer. The connection between your mind and your hand is very natural and it supports all the creative flows.

“It’s in the doing that the idea comes”

6. O. S.: Could you please tell us about your course «Sketch Like an Architect»

D. D.: Sure, this course is for people who want to learn or get better at architectural sketching. This bite-sized online course's sub-title is 'Step-by-Step from Lines to Perspective' and my students learn everything from the very basics of making straight lines to gradually more complex compositions of sketched perspectives. On the way I also share tips & tricks on lines & 2D objects, perspective rules, shading and texturing, populating your sketch and adding vegetation, and combining all these elements into one awesome perspective sketch.

Part of this course is also a 60-page PDF Handbook with all the summarized information, worksheets for practicing, and finished examples of sketches with explained techniques.

• You can join this course on Skillshare and get 2 months of Premium Membership for free (no payment, cancel anytime) via this link: check it.

• The PDF Handbook is also available separately on my Gumroad page: check it.

7. O. S.: How do you see the future of hand rendering in architecture and interior design?

D. D.: I am very optimistic about this - I can't imagine something would replace hand-sketching in our industries in any foreseeable future. From all the reasons mentioned above I believe it will stay an important part of both design process and presentation and maybe there will be even more demand for it as the human touch added to hand-renderings is irreplaceable and will always connect us on a very human level.

“I can’t imagine something would replace hand-sketching in our industries in any foreseeable future”

8. O. S.: What one advise would you give for beginners in hand rendering?

D. D.: Learn to observe and understand why things work and look like they do. Observation skills are essential for good sketching, for composition, light and shadows, proportions, materiality, and everything else. Train yourself to be better at observing! What I love about sketching is that it forces you to understand the object first before you're able to draw it. In that way, when you sketch you'll always learn something new.

Interview with David Drazil by Olga Sorokina.

P. S. Please share this inspiring interview with your friends, they will be glad you did. Thanks in advance!

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