Applied/Everyday Graphics and Design Communication
Applied/Everyday Graphics and Design Communication
This domain tests choosing and reading graphics for a real purpose: working drawings, plans, symbols, charts, nets and simple design presentations.
Core rules
- Match the graphic to the audience: a manufacturer needs orthographic views with dimensions; a client needs a pictorial or plan; a technician needs symbols and a legend.
- Use standard symbols consistently: door swings, window openings, electrical points, flow-chart arrows, and section references.
- State the scale and units. On a plan, give overall sizes and opening sizes; avoid duplicate dimensions.
- A net is a development with tabs and fold lines; a chart needs titled axes, units and a clear key.
- Design communication should show function, size, material and assembly, not decoration.
Worked example
A shelf is 900 mm long, 200 mm deep and 25 mm thick, with two brackets. For the manufacturer, draw a 1:10 orthographic set: 90 mm x 20 mm plan and 90 mm x 2.5 mm front edge, with bracket positions and fixing-hole sizes. For the client, sketch an isometric view. Reasoning: 1:10 keeps the 900 mm shelf on A4 while preserving readable detail; the isometric shows the finished appearance, while the orthographic set gives buildable sizes.
Traps
- Giving a client a working drawing with no pictorial explanation.
- Omitting the scale or units.
- Using non-standard symbols without a key.
- Drawing a net without fold lines or tabs.
- Confusing a plan with an elevation.