Technology Education Department
Technical Drawing Program
INTRODUCTION TO VISUALIZATION
Since the days of the cave dwellers, man has developed many
ways to record or document his ideas. Designers and engineers
have progressed from burnt sticks and cave walls, to stone tablets
and chisels, to papyrus and quill pens, to paper and pencil,
to mylar and ink, and now to computer and printer. All of these
advances in drawing tools and reproduction techniques have improved
mans ability to communicate his ideas to others.
Leonardo da Vinci is often referred to as the "father
of modern drawing" for his practice and teaching of a method
for graphical representation that recorded and presented his
ideas.
Gaspard Monge is credited with developing early principles
of orthographic projection that lead to the teaching of Descriptive
Geometry.
The Industrial Revolution made use of orthographic projection
to create interchangeable parts and mass production techniques.
The Art of Draughting in the 19th century transformed into
the Business of Drafting in the 20th century and has become the
Science of Graphics in the 21st century.
Engineering Graphics combines the art of drawing with the
sciences of materials and related technologies to provide systematic
procedures for the solving of engineering problems and for the
documentation of these solutions.
Today's designers and engineers must be able analyze a problem;
arrive at a creative solution to the problem; and communicate
his solution accurately for something new or improved.
To be successful at presenting his ideas, an engineer must
be able to visualize . . . build images in his head.
Observation skills are also extremely important for an engineer
to be successful. Over 80% of what we learn is through seeing.
Pattern seeking, visual induction, mirror imaging, and maze
completion are ways of improving ones ability to visualize.
Practice is the best way to improve your observation and
visualization skills and eventually will improve your ability
to think creatively.