Tips for Designers
NEW to the lab? START HERE
Where do I start when I have an idea that I would like to design?
As with any good idea, a good old-fashioned way to start would be to draw it out FIRST on paper. Here you can work through your design process, explore concepts, work through possible design issues, broaden your idea. You don't have to be a master sketcher or artist - just start drawing!!
Sometimes a more detailed Scaled Drawing is what you may need - this type of "blueprint" is helpful when you need to work with exact measurements. Here is a SAMPLE for you to see.
Moving to a digital draft. What design Programs should I use?
With your concept ready. Now you can start designing your Digital Draft!! At Brady Fab Lab we use several designing software. Different Design Programs are suited for different situations.
For example, During Virtual Learning - online sofrware is user friendly - as long as you have internet access - anyone can use them.
When we are together in the Fab Lab we use some on-line software, but we also use software that is user friendly for our fabrication machines.
See below as to what software we use and when we use it.
Programs we use when making Digital Drafts
Adobe Ilustrator
Get to Know Ai & Tool Bar Guide
Machines: Laser Cutter, Shopbot, Embroidery, Vinyl Cutter
CorelDraw Fab Lab Tutorials
Adobe Illustrator has some several basic videos to help you become familiar with this program that are useful During In-Person Open Lab. While with us please spend a few minutes with these four tutorials!
Adobe Ilustrator is used at the Fab Lab. This program connects directly to our Fabrication Machines.
Some common questions that new fab-labbers ask at the Brady Fab Lab
WHAT DOES RASTER MEAN?
Raster = Engraving
In CorelDRAW to engrave using the laser the color you must use is RGB Black (R 0, G 0, B 0 or #000000)
WHAT DOES VECTOR MEAN?
Vector = Cutting
In CorelDRAW to cut using a laser the color of the line you are cutting must be set to HAIRLINE using RGB Red (R 225, G, 0, B 0 or #FF0000)
WHAT IS A BITMAP?
A bitmap (or raster graphic) is a digital image composed of a matrix of dots. When viewed at 100%, each dot corresponds to an individual pixel on a display. Brady Fab Lab's machines read bitmaps and they produce the clearest image or text.