design for small companies?

well i've got a bunch of graph paper and i've been drawing plenty.. and i'm taking some lessons from my artist wife
but i want to ask the "experts" how the small framing companies do thier design work
i'm talking about the work to set the shape size and look of a building for a client
so that the client can see thier building

i have an engineer and i have a good handle on frame styles and beam sizes

it's more the actual production of drawings that i would show a client that i wonder about...
maybe my graph paper would be fine for some but i don't think it would fly with everyone

-Mark in Ontario, Canada.

Most frame drawings start with floor plans, and then bent assemblies. After that elevations of all four sides, especially if different from front to back or end to end.
But the most attention getter is the isometric view of the frame.
If you can draw a frame with graph paper then pick up an low end cad program and learn to draw with a mouse, and see if it can produce a 3d drawing. Printing out a nice frame, without the graph pager lines, will add some professionalism to your drawings, even if you can't produce an isometric drawing.
Or you could get a good drafting board and learn how to draw the three views and then an isometric from those views.
When making a proposal drawing don't spend a lot of time on the joinery. Just put the beams in their places and the joinery is in the shop drawings, if you make them.
Good luck with your drawings.
Jim Rogers
ps. I'm no expert, just my 2 Cents

Mark:

I've also built scale models to help the client visualize the completed frame. See examples on my web site under design concepts . CB.

wowza
what is the scale of these miniatures?
seems like a lot of work for a model
how much time was involved?
-M.

Scale is 1:32. They're not as much work as it looks like, and as you can imagine, prospective clients are impressed. I encourage them to take it home with them for a week, and leave it on the coffee table. I find it's an effective sales tool.

I rip the stock down to size on the table saw, and them cut the sticks to length on the band saw. I glue up the bents one day, and then glue the bents together the next day - almost a miniature raising! It takes several days, but I don't work on it non-stop. I just interrupt what I'm doing once in a while to glue up something, and then go back to work while it dries. I'd guess less than 8 hours goes into each model. It's not hard to piss away that much time on a computer! :p Of course I still do computer drawings too. CB.

i like the miniature idea
it seems like a good winter project for a Canadian
and yes it is very easy to waste time on the computer
-M.

Mark,
I agree with daiku, very much so. I've built a couple models and they are very handy.Well worth the time. They help visualize beam placement, floor plan layout and possible changes to the frame. (and it's fun) I used a 1/2 scale on an architects ruler, a little bigger than what daiku used. but it all works well good luck.....ZAC

I use Architectural Desktop & HSB to model and export it to a VRML model that I can email to a client/architect/engineer. All they need is a simple browser plug-in to view. If the meeting is in person I bring paper plans to mark up and a laptop compuer so we can look at any aspect of the frame from any angle. I have the advantage of having done a lot of architectural design work with CAD. If you don't have CAD and CAD experience it will be expensive and take a while to get proficient with it.