Literature Review

What are doodles?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines doodles as, “An aimless scrawl made by a person while his mind is otherwise applied”. Doodling has also been described as “Preliterate, primordial” and, “The most common and the most ignored art form”. Our research dug up some interesting questions not only about the nature of doodling, but also that of the human mind. A project that started out as a directory of campus doodles now begs attention to the very mental processes behind creating works of art. In the course of answering these questions, we also noticed that the doodle refuses to be categorized. Different people look upon it by attributing to it different significance. We enclose here our varied findings, and leave you with the conclusion that the answers to these questions lie, after all, in the eyes of the bedoodler.

Doodling as a gateway to creative process

The doodle, formerly associated with frivolous goofing off, is now starting to be viewed as a tool for greater information retention, creativity, and expressiveness. In fact, it is even being used by companies like Disney and Dell, who actually want their employees to doodle on the job because it frees up the mind for a greater creative process. The doodle has gone so far as to be employed in teaching journalists to come up with un-thought of story angles, too.

Doodling is Art

However, it is important not to take doodles too seriously. For though the productive outcome of a doodle is significant, it is also always worthwhile to consider the other side of that artistic coin: enjoying a work of art simply as a work of art. It is significant to appreciate the relationship of the pen and the mind, and their completely unrestrained journey on a blank piece of paper. It is also about enjoying that feeling of abandon, and enjoying an experience so ephemeral.

Doodling is NOT art

Another completely different point of view suggests that doodles should not be regarded as works of art at all. No matter how visually appealing a doodle is, what is most important is the learning experience derived from the process. The danger in thinking of a doodle as artwork is that it loses its inclusivity. Something you have so much fun doing shouldn’t depend on whether you draw stick figures or portraits, after all.

Doodling as an escape hatch

The doodle is in fact also an escape hatch. It is a means to forget everything you have learned about the rigid rules of art. Forget line, space, composition. Just take up a pen and paper and let your mind wander.

Doodling as an archaeological tool

Doodles have also proven to be important insights into the lifestyle of the people of ancient civilizations. Against the backdrop of a severe lack of archaeological data about the Phrygian civilization, doodles from this time period form a solid block of knowledge about the way people lived.

Doodles as a form of interaction

One of the earliest manifestations of non-verbal communication through text began with pictograms. Afnan Qutub talks of doodling as a “contemporary form of pictogram communication” by drawing a parallel between doodle analysis and graphology. Looking at things like the pressure exerted on the paper, the strokes, recurring patterns, shapes, and themes that pop up in a person’s doodles can give hints about their mood, mindset, and subconscious messages. He suggests that people generate doodles based on certain interactive situations, and that they are a form of continued expression when the verbal form is suppressed, allowing the train of thought to continue moving forward as it represents itself on paper.

Who doodles?

Everybody doodles, from a toddler who cannot colour within the lines to the elderly who scribble on paper during long telephone conversations, everybody. Doodling and scribbling are most often associated with young children and toddlers, because their lack of hand–eye coordination and lower mental development often make it very difficult for any young child to keep their coloring attempts within the line art of the subject. Despite this, it is not unusual but completely common to see such behaviour with adults, in which case it generally is done jovially, out of boredom. Adolescents doodling may seem totally formless and meaningless, but it fits perfectly into aspects of adolescents’ psychology. Living in multiple realities, including the “daydream reality,” is common among adolescents.

Famous Doodlers

Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore made huge number of doodles in his manuscript. Poet and physician John Keats doodled in the margins of his medical notes; other literary doodlers have included Samuel Beckett and Sylvia Plath. Mathematician Stanislaw Ulam developed the Ulam spiral for visualisation of prime numbers while doodling during a boring presentation at a mathematics conference. Many American Presidents like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton are well-known for doodling in White House meetings.

Kan Koon-Hwee’s Art Education (http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193889)

“All The President’s Doodles” (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/toc/2006/09)

“Idle Doodles by Famous Authors” (http://flavorwire.com/147177)

Why do we doodle?

It is apparent that doodles lack a sense of purpose and are a way to amuse oneself. However, they are the product of a preoccupied mind. What we draw with a pensive mind can possibly be projections of our subconscious. According to the quote by Arundel, a natural state of the mind for human beings is a state of, “Pixillation”. He implies it to be a state of enchantment which is revealed only through the unplanned drawings. Through this, one can understand as to why people sometimes inadvertently write the lyrics of a song they heard earlier, or why they draw versions of the sun during an environmental studies class.

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