The Future of Drawing Equipment

When I get chatting to someone in a Pub and the question of "What do you do for a living?" crops up, there is always a set sequence of events.

Firstly I tell them I work for a drawing board manufacturer. They either say "What? Pieces of wood?" or, if they are a little more worldly-wise "Drawing Boards? I didn't think people still used drawing boards?". I then proceed to tell them that both students and professional designers / architects all do indeed still use drawing boards and even though computers undoubtedly have their place, you still can't beat pencil and paper for getting ideas down.

So I was in the Cross Keys in Leeds last Wednesday night (Burns night) and there was a young lad working on his laptop at the bar. I couldn't see what was on his screen, but as I was ordering drinks I couldn't help notice his sketch book as he drew exotic and fancy profiles of buildings and interior layouts.

I couldn't help myself. "What are you working on?" at which point I noticed that sleep probably hadn't been on his agenda for quite some time. He was a third year architectural student called Tom studying in Leeds and was glad to show me his project; a rather striking building he was designing for his current assignment. He showed me his recent portfolio of sketches in his book - hundreds of lovingly drawn ideas from the basic to the sublime. Sketched, re-sketched, coloured and crossed out, this book represented the inner workings of his mind over the last year. On his screen was the half finished model with every detail from his sketch faithfully reproduced in wire frame.

"And what is it you do for a living?" he asked, sipping from his extra, extra black coffee.
"Ever heard of 'Orchard'?" I asked with a wry smile. He looked puzzled for a moment then suddenly remembering the name "we use Orchard drawing tables at Uni".
"That's us. We make them only a few miles away" I told him.
"No way? You actually make that stuff?"

It turns out his entire department is kitted out with Orchard drawing equipment and he uses it every day. What's more he loves using it and finds something very 'romantic' about drawing on paper. The cold hard machine that was his laptop was just a tool to him, a way of saving his ideas in 1's and 0's. His real love, his creativity, could only be released through paper and pencil and that was the reason he loved architecture.

Three years in to a seven year course he admitted that it is a long hard slog, but well worth the rewards at the end of it. To find yourself designing something which will actually get built. Knowing that you are in a position to create a visual impact on millions who see, live and work inside your creations for years to come.

He told me about the responsibility ahead of him. Medicine takes 5 years but you can only ever kill one person at once. Architecture takes so much longer because one mistake could have catastrophic consequences. I could see he was keen to get back to his work so with that I wished him well and left him to it.

I have to admit. Although I am a creative, I don't really know how to get the most out of a drawing board. Not like how Tom could at any rate. We make them, sell them then make some more knowing that the product is perfect for the job but not being able to do the 'job' ourselves.

We are organic beings, as much as we claim to know and understand computers they will always stifle basic creativity to some extent and so I see a bright future for the humble drawing board as the trusty companion for architects like Tom, designers and artists the world over.

Orchard Mirrors the Fashion World

Mirroring Fashion


As far as the world of fashion is concerned, if drawing boards do have their place then its only in the design studio. Last summer something extraordinary happened as drawing boards and fashion were brought together for a world class display of male suits in Somerset house in London.

Esquire Magazine led the drive to showcase 18 of the finest garments the worlds leading fashion houses and designers had to offer. Teamed up with major artist the goal was to create an artistic vision which demonstrated superb styling with an exquisite attention to detail. Each vision was then presented in full splendor next to a fully mirrored Orchard drawing board with polished chrome stand.

Granted, not all of the suits on display were practical, but the designers were able to let their artistic juices flow and catch the eye of the worlds media as the opening night was star studded with the likes of Graham Norton, Bonnie Wright & George Lamb.

Optimising your potential to have a blue sky water cooler moment

Space Saving Solutions

Getting the most out of your work space can be challenging at the best of times. Even with a tidy work ethic the combined efforts of you and your colleagues can sometimes lay waste to your office.

Eliminating this problem entirely is certainly an achievement but to do it in style is another thing altogether.



Since Stark made his orange juicer and Kamprad screwed the leg off his table and called it IKEA, designers have been working hard at their drawing board to make your office a pleasant place to be.

The 'paperless office' thing has always been the holy grail but realistically humanity can't cope with it just yet. Paper storage and plan filing solutions exist in their droves allowing you to efficiently organise your paper sensibly.

Educational environments suffer from the same problems. Design studios and art rooms use copious amounts of paper all of which needs organising and filing. Space is often also at a premium so having multipurpose furniture can really help to get the most out of the work space.

Reversible desks are a great space saving solution for schools and colleges. Providing a normal school desk but featuring an integrated desk top drawing board for graphic and design work.

Back to the drawing board

The drawing office industry is vast, no doubt. Constantly evolving over the last century to keep up with the times; it's come a long way since the dawning of the humble drawing board; when man first took pencil to paper properly.


Back in the early 20th century it would have be hard to imagine where design technology would ultimately take our society. CAD (computer aided design) has pushed boundaries and opened limitless possibilities with what we can do with materials. This, coupled with the desire of designers to be remembered for their work, has produced impressive results over the whole spectrum of design.


The Seed Cathedral is one of my recent favorites for its bonkers brilliance. It displays a way of think about construction that questions conventions built up since man started arranging stones into wall shapes. But at the heart of all this development still remains that first idea, that initial scribble on the back of a crisp packet (which is really hard if you've ever tried it). The next step is the drawing board where the idea is given a chance to really flourish for the first time. That initial sketch lays out the basics of the concept and gets it out in the open for the first time.


Drawing boards help you thrash out an idea in a way that a computer program never could. And so, with even the most cutting edge technological advances, life still started out on a drawing board. Computers have tried to emulate what a drawing board can do with limited success - at the end of the day there really is no substitute for pencil and paper.


Ultimately, computers have the major role in modern design from building skyscrapers to space stations and it's likely it'll be that way from now on. "CAD" was born the first time a computer was used to replace that final stage of drafting a finished technical drawing. Maybe though, its simply that computers can never totally replace that initial design phase.


No matter what you are designing "CAD" is almost a given in this day and age, maybe we should change it to "DAD" (drawing aided design) and celebrate the drawing board and it's legacy that still lives on.