UNIT 3

The many uses of drawing in Engineering

Drawing plays several roles in the design process. These roles fall into three major categories: exploration, idea development, and documentation. For the purposes of this chapter, drawing includes sketching (rapid, freehand drawings) as well as more exacting depictions such as those required for technical work, possibly using instruments like compasses and straightedges. Sketching is shorthand for artists. It is used to get information down quickly, as in visual brain-storming. Detail drawing, for example, tends to be more careful and time-consuming.

Visible World

Exploration is how we gather and make sense of information. The act of drawing requires us to look very hard at a subject, to really focus our attention on the details. Up to 90 percent of the information humans take in is visual, and yet rarely do we take a hard look at the world. Looking with the intention of drawing requires intense concentration. Drawing is an excellent investigative tool; it can help us understand how things work and how parts relate to one another.

Developing Ideas

We develop solutions to design problems by generating and manipulating ideas. Our first ideas for solving problems are usually rather rough. Sketching allows us to give form to ideas and to think more clearly about how to build on those ideas. Creating successive drawings allows us to capture each improvement. Drawing is one of the handiest tools at our disposal for putting down an idea and then changing it until we have something we like.

Exploration and idea development are the building blocks of creativity. The freehand sketching and drawing explained in this chapter provide a direct bridge from what's in our minds to the world of physical objects and products. It is the immediacy of hand drawing that allows us to capture a creative insight or a moment's vision for future use.

Week 8

Monday 10/09


Tuesday 10/10, Wednesday 10/11


Thursday 10/12 


Friday 10/13 

Week 9

Monday 10/16


Tuesday 10/17, Wednesday 10/18

Thursday 10/19 

Friday 10/20


EXTRA

Week 10

Monday 10/23

Tuesday 10/24, Wednesday 10/25

Thursday 10/26

Friday 10/27


Extra: