Untacit.

Features matter more than detail

People recognize an object because you kept its distinctive feature, not because you drew every detail.

Hand-drawn speech bubbles, puzzle piece, arrows, document, clock, clouds, and lock built from a few distinctive lines
Feature practice · 01Each symbol keeps only a few identifying features. It does not need to be complete; the reader only needs to recognize its category and purpose quickly.

A three-step test

  1. Find the category: mostly round, square, or triangular?
  2. Find the feature: what could you not remove?
  3. Remove detail: delete every line that does not help recognition

Choose camera, bridge, robot, or gift. Draw it three times:

  • once from instinct
  • once with only three basic shapes
  • once with only its most distinctive feature

Show the third drawing to someone. If they recognize it within two seconds, it is good enough.