From Humble Beginnings to High Tech Necessity...

I began my attraction to drafting many, Many, MANY years ago in high school where we were taught the basic skills of using various hardened pencil leads to give diverse weights to different lines for unique meanings. The basic tools used in those decades were T-squares, triangles and drafting tables. During college, I thought I was the cat’s meow when I upgraded to a drafting arm… a simple yet modern device that maintained a straight line anywhere on my table respective to my drawing.

THEN, the three smallest letters revolutionized the architectural world… CAD, Computer Aided Drafting. This brought the end to rolled up ammonia smelling blueprints, large format file drawers, and erasure stubble brushed onto the floor. It was amazing how drawings could be pulled up and worked on so easily, how multiple architects could share the same document, and how files could be emailed instead of messengered to an engineer for approval!

In my humble beginnings in the Event Industry, I quickly recognized the importance and significance for this radical tool. It was a great means of communication between all vendors… from designers to caterers to entertainment and banquet captains.

CAD brought organization, communication, and creativity to the industry and most importantly, CAD brought space planning to the forefront. Design wasn’t limited to floral, linen or stage backdrops any longer, design extended to the layout. This was HUGE, space plans seemed to sculpt the room, and took the design to a third dimension. Set ups became more organized, vendor relationships blossomed, and life became easier.

From a design point of view, space plans allow for a whole new level of design. At Design Works, we aspire to unique layouts. Most noticeably are the industry award nights at the ICON galas where we contort the rooms forcing them to take on views never before seen by moving the stage to the entrance wall or elevating the stage and placing a lounge or bar beneath it. Creative dance floor layouts allow for more patrons to have interesting and lucrative seating… The possibilities are endless!

You’re probably asking… where could this possible go from here? Well, I am excited to share with you, Design Works is now taking layouts further to a third dimension. We are extruding our floor plans into 3-D images where clients with appropriate budgets can meander through the floor from different perspectives and advantage points creating virtual tours of their events, helping those who are either spending a lot of money or have trouble visualizing the design elements and placement.