Effects of Hand–Drawing and CAD Techniques on Design Development: A Comparison of Design Merit Ratings

Abstract

This exploratory study examined interior design projects developed using traditional hand–drawing and computer–aided design (CAD) techniques to determine if differences exist on seven aspects of design merit in the resulting design solutions. Junior–level, interior design students (N=40) were matched into two groups based on their preference for hand–drawing or CAD design technique and a baseline creativity rating taken on a previous project. Groups completed the same project with one group using hand–drawing and the second group using CAD. Interior design educators used a previously developed instrument to rate each project on seven aspects of design merit: appropriateness, complexity, creativity, liking, novelty, originality, and thematic expression. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) tested each of the seven design merits to determine if significant differences in design merits existed for projects generated by the two groups. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) determined if differences existed between the hand–drawing and CAD groups when the seven design merits were analyzed simultaneously. The univariate and multivariate analyses revealed no significant differences between the two design techniques on the seven aspects of design merit when they were used in developing an interior solution. Both hand–drawn and CAD techniques were used effectively to generate viable design solutions. However, additional research examining the effects of these techniques is necessary before assumptions can be completely formulated regarding their impact on the design process.