How knitting charts from my aunt cleaned up my messy schematics

I was stuck on electrical schematics with lines everywhere. My aunt showed me her knitting chart for a sweater pattern. It used simple symbols for each stitch type. I thought, why not try that for my components? Now I use a legend with icons instead of crowded labels. My drafts are neater and faster to understand. My coworkers asked how I improved so fast. I just pointed to my aunt's craft basket.

2 comments

2 Comments

willow1742d ago

Seriously @dakotajones, do we need to overanalyze a simple drafting tip from knitting?

dakotajones2d ago

That's actually a deep point about how our brains read pictures faster than words. Your aunt's stitch symbols work because they turn labels into a visual language, which cuts down on brain work. It's why road signs use shapes instead of sentences. You basically built a sign system for your schematics. Makes me wonder what other fields could steal from craft patterns. Maybe cooking recipes with icons instead of paragraphs.