434 Interiors Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. A great deal of digital storage today is free, particu- larly through the use of cloud technology. Designers use cloud technology for file sharing, computer power, collaboration, and data storage. It is important to make sure such storage is secure, but accessible to other team members. Cloud computing offers many benefits to the design process and design teams. ■ First, team members can remain part of the workflow by connecting to projects uploaded to the cloud. ■ Second, virtually infinite computer power is available. This alleviates the problem with the time and storage requirements to process and store large files often resulting from CAD, BIM, or rendering work. ■ Third, team members can work almost anytime and anywhere in a secure environment. Online-file sharing helps meet increasing demands of both designers and clients for more services. More design services result in greater file size, making files difficult to send via e-mail. A decade ago, a simple CAD drawing was quite large. Today, with BIM and render- ing software capabilities, file size has exponentially increased. You can send audio, video, and presentation files quickly and securely without requiring customers to download any extra software. Online-file sharing is easy to learn, reliable, offers more freedom in the size of files sent, offers increased track- ing and reliability, and keeps your files secure through password protection. Popular file-sharing companies include Google and Dropbox. Visual Presentation Drawings Visuals serve both construction and presentation purposes. As you know, construction drawings explain ideas precisely enough to build a structure or an item. Presentation drawings depict concepts and ideas, but they are primarily marketing and communcation tools. A designer may use a visual presentation technique such as sketching in all phases of the design process. He or she may use others, such as construction docu- ments, only in the Design Development and Contruction Administration phases. A designer can complete presen- tation-drawing techniques manually or with computer technology, Figure 13-6. As a design student, you can learn all of the following visual presentation skills. There are a variety of meth- ods with which to communicate your ideas. Be persis- tent and confident. You will master all these skills. Sketching Techniques Professional designers use sketching for two reasons: to communicate and to visualize. Sketching is a useful communication tool for you, your team members, and your clients. As a visualization tool, sketching explores ideas from different angles. In order to take shape or form, the designer must sketch design ideas. Sketching enables interior designers to “design think” through their fingers. Some refer to it as a type of eye- hand coordination. This is the translation of an idea or thought from the brain through the eye to the hand which is coordinated to perform the task. As a design student, your idea may be good. The challenge is to coordinate your hand. Sketching is an effective tool a designer uses the most during the Schematic design phase when brainstorm- ing and idea generation take place. Sketching is not a neat or tidy process. Individually, as an idea forms and is sketched it can branch to other ideas that cascade out to collide with each other. When work- ing in a team, the designer may modify a sketch again and again as team members give input until a design or idea emerges that meets the client’s needs. Dimitar Sotirov/Shutterstock.com Figure 13-6 The designer typically uses construction documents during the Design Development and Contract Administration phases of the design process.