There are those who believe the role of graphic design in architecture is a superficial one; that it is a vapid practice serving only to ‘prettify’ architectural projects that would otherwise, in many cases, be unconvincing. There are also those that decry the increasing importance of graphic design in the education of architecture as a move away from ‘substance’ toward a visual superficiality, signifying a commoditisation of architecture itself. I suggest, however, that these views can only be formed in the limited context of an understanding of graphic design in architecture as a purely representational device.