Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the logic and sequential processes behind the right name for a program by comparing real world practices in Design and Drafting. Also by analyzing a survey used on professionals who work in the real world where it relates to the designing fields. Included are instructors who are involved in teaching Design and Drafting programs and senior students majoring in the interior design and architecture programs. Many technical/vocational, community colleges, polytechnics, and universities have as the name of their program, Drafting and Design without understanding the processes of Design and Drafting. This manuscript encourages the higher education administrators, department heads, chairs, deans, institution presidents and other decision making members to re-evaluate their program names.

Key Words: Design, Drafting, Sequence, Program Name, Processes.

Design

There are major differences in Design and Drafting, including the logical and sequential processes. The concept of Design is used by engineers, architects and technical related professionals, who work in the fields of mechanical, architectural, electrical, aerospace, piping, structural, technical illustrating and many other fields. A Designer's work lies somewhere between science and art; it starts with a problem and arrives at a solution considering constraints such as client satisfactions, cost, materials and much more. Let's see the definition of Design from the architecture and interior designer point of view to understand the important role it plays in a program name. According to the Means Illustrated Construction Dictionary the definition of Design is, "To make a preliminary sketch, drawing, or outline" (Smith 1985). For example, there are many steps taken by the architects, architectural designers, and interior designers in a Design process before the final steps (i.e. construction documents). The Design steps are started after determining and analyzing the client's requirements and the site conditions. According to Ernest (1981), "Buildings are designed by architects using sketches and then preliminary drawings." The typical Design steps in architecture and interior designs are: schematics, presentation drawings, and preliminary drawings. Figure 1 shows the different steps taken in the Designing processes. It should also be noted that other engineering and technical fields take similar steps in Designing.                                                                                    

Client

Schematics

Presentation Drawings

Preliminary Drawings

      Figure 1

Drafting

After establishing the basic Design concepts, the schematics, presentations, and preliminary drawings are used as a starting point for refining the project into a more workable system. At this point the working drawings are taken into place. According to Ernest (1981), "The working drawings are the finished construction drawings that will be reproduced for use by the contractor and subcontractors who erect the building." The work of working drawings fall into the category of Drafting, and Drafting is a very time consuming task. As a result, many architects and engineers don't like to spend their valuable time drafting. Therefore, they hire Designers and Drafters to perform this challenging task. Many definitions of Drafting exist in the architecture and mechanical fields. However, according to The World Book Encyclopedia the definition of Drafting "is a drawing that provides the exact information needed to produce an architectural structure or a manufactured object."(2004).

Many two and four-year colleges, polytechnics and universities are staying away from teaching their architectural and engineering students the skills of Drafting. General Motors Corporation Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said during a speech at the annual conference of the Society of Automotive Engineers, "We are actually training our engineers to be managers while the rest of the world trains them to be doers."(2005). He also said that the "Asian and European engineers are trained in drafting and can draw a new design on the spot when they run into problems." On the other hand the "U.S. engineers often need to call in designers to do the drawing and may take weeks to figure out a solution."(2005).Figure number 2 clearly shows that Drafting is the final stage in the Design processes.                                                                                       

Client

Schematics

Part of the Design Process

Presentation Drawings

Part of the Design process

Preliminary Drawings

Part of the Design process

Working Drawings

Part of the Drafting process

      Figure 2

Distribution of Survey

A survey was personally distributed by a researcher to professionals, instructors and senior students. On the top of the survey is described the purpose of the research and a brief description of the Design and Drafting, followed by the questions. The numbers related to this survey requested are listed below:

Original number of surveys distributed:  45

Number completed and returned:   42

Number not returned:     3

The above survey resulted in 93% returned, which is very encouraging. All of the participants were very enthusiastic about taking the survey which establishes their concern about the program names in the various institutions.

Design or Drafting

The first question asked in the survey was, when they start a project, do they design first or start Drafting (i.e. working drawing) their ideas first? 81% of participants responded that they Design first by making sketches or outlines of their ideas. However, 19% of participant answered that they start Drafting first by creating a working drawing. It should be noted that many experienced Designers have the ability to imagine their Design but might not consider their imagination as a Design process, but in reality the thinking process is a Design process. Figure 3 shows the Design and Drafting distribution.

                                          Figure 3

Program Name

The second question asked in the survey was, if they were to ask or have a decision making position to decide on a design program name, which would they pick, Design and Drafting or Drafting and Design. 74% of participants responded by picking the name Design and Drafting. On the other hand 26% of the participants responded by picking the name Drafting and Design. Figure 4 shows the distribution of the two choices.

                              Figure 4

Conclusion

The decision makers of program names in higher education institutions either do not understand the Design and Drafting processes or are just simply adopting names from other institutions existing program names. In both cases, all of the institutions need to go back and reevaluate their program names and curriculum. After analyzing the survey and the Design and Drafting processes, it is crystal clear that Design comes first. Most of the administrators and deans have no idea about the importance of a right name and curriculum for their programs. They should not expect high enrollment in their programs, especially if they have a wrong name and curriculum. Furthermore, one of the reasons for this problem is their limited knowledge in the technical fields and institutions requirements to run many programs simultaneously. It is essential for decision makers to understand the processes of Design and Drafting, especially if they have an existing program or are planning to start one. After comparing the 2 year college's program names provided in the Peterson's guide to two-year colleges (2006), most of the private colleges were in my opinion found to have the wrong program names. Interestingly, the same college's curriculums also are not geared toward a specific field of study. Most of the curriculums combined civil, architecture, and mechanical fields into one program. As a result it may be difficult for their graduates to master a specific field, which may also lead to some confusion. We lead the world in higher education and if we don't realize and correct our mistakes, underdeveloped countries may not follow our educational systems. 

References  

Durbin, Dee-Ann. (2005, April 13). Lutz favors streamlined engineering. He cites need for training in drafting. Associate Press.

Peterson's guide to two-year colleges, 37^th Ed. (2006). NJ. Thomson Peterson's.

Smith, Kornelis. (1985). Means Illustrated Construction Dictionary. MA. R. S. Means  Company, Inc.

The World Book Encyclopedia (2005). Mechanical drawing. The World Book Encyclopedia ("M" Vol. 13, p. 353). Chicago, ILL. World Book, Inc.

Weidhass, R. Ernest. (1981). Reading Architectural Plans-For Residential And Commercial Construction. MA. Allyn and Bacon, Inc.