Design tool

Eugene S. Ferguson's 1977 paper in Science, entitled "The mind's eye: Nonverbal thought in technology", is credited for clarifying the role of visual reasoning in the thinking process.

"[7] He concludes his article with the following statement: In his work claims Ferguson that visual reasoning is a widely used tool used in creating technological artefacts.

There is ample evidence that visual methods, particularly drawing, play a central role in creating artefacts.

Verbal design tools are, for example, metaphor, description, discussion, critique, theory, algorithm, calculation, program.

A designer may use sketches to explore multiple or complex ideas quickly[11] without the distractions and complications of software.