Beyond vision. Drawing and Design as multisensory synaptic processes

This paper explores drawing and design as cognitive and perceptual processes grounded in multisensory dynamics. Through an interdisciplinary theoretical-critical approach, the essay proposes the metaphor of the synapse as an interpretative model for describing drawing as a relational device that connects perception, the body, matter, and the construction of experience. The multisensory paradigm and theories of embodied cognition allow us to reinterpret representation as an active environment of simulation, anticipation and design modulation. The case study on the ceramic surfaces project, developed as part of an inter-university teaching initiative between Florence and Perugia, highlights the role of two-dimensional drawing in generating sensory surfaces, subsequently materialised through 3D printing. The analysis highlights how the transition from the mark to three-dimensional morphology significantly affects the interactions among vision, touch, and light, contributing to the definition of situated perceptual behaviours. Drawing thus emerges as the cognitive infrastructure of contemporary design.