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Section 3 Creating Technology
bicycle. The bicycle designer creates
rough sketches of bicycles of different
sizes, shapes, and designs. Size and
shape are two elements of design devel-
oped using rough sketches. The sketches
can also be ideas of smaller parts of the
whole solution. See Figure 13-10. In the
bicycle example, the rough sketches can
be different ideas for the brakes and gears
of the bicycle.
These sketches are also known as
thumbnail sketches because of their
size. Most rough sketches are fairly small,
with several rough sketches fitting on a
sheet of paper. Good designers are able to
create rough sketches fairly quickly. These
sketches might take beginners a while to
create. The time spent on creating rough
sketches is not what is most important.
The importance of rough sketches is that
many ideas are generated.
Refined Sketches
After ideation, the designer should
have a large number of rough sketches.
These sketches might contain many good
ideas. There might be ideas on how to
solve the entire problem or how to solve
small pieces of the larger problem. The
sketches are simply ideas on paper. They
make up a library of solutions. The rough
sketches need more work done to them
before they become proposed solutions to
the problem. From the rough sketches, the
designer must select the most promising
solutions. This is the first time in the entire
design process that the ideas can be
reviewed. In the brainstorming and rough-
sketching stages, all ideas were valid. No
ideas were criticized or discarded.
The designer creates new sketches
based on the best ideas from the rough
sketches. The new sketches are called
refined sketches. See Figure 13-11.
A refined sketch might focus on one
rough sketch. This sketch might, however,
combine parts of several sketches to make
one new idea. The sketches combine the
ideas ideation created. The purpose of
the refined sketch is to narrow down the
design ideas. The designer creates several
different refined sketches. The best solu-
tions will be chosen in the next step of the
design process.
The Sketching
Process
Sketches are not always easy to
create. See Figure 13-12. Sketching is a
technique. There is a certain way to sketch.
Sketching has several steps:
1. Visualizing the object.
2. Blocking out shapes.
3. Adding an outline.
4. Drawing design features.
Visualizing the Object
The technique of sketching begins
with visualizing the object. Visualizing,
or seeing, the object might seem to be a
simple thing. You might be able to look at
an object and sketch it. In rough sketching,
however, you might not be able to look at
something real. If you are creating a new
and innovative product, there is no image
at which to look. You might have the idea
only in your mind and have to “see” the
Figure 13-10. Some sketches show solutions of
only part of a design. (Design Central, design firm;
Artromick International, client)