REFLECTIONS ON TECHNICAL DRAWING APPLIED TO FASHION

EUSTÁQUIO RODRIGUES DE ALMEIDA1

RODRIGO BESSA2

Review: In the production of an item it is considered important that the fashion designer knows the
technical representation of the artifact by drawing, since this provides concise data and requirements for
the execution of a given design project.After the stylization of the sketch, the technical file is a
constitutional tool in developing a product. This document contains all necessary information for execution,
tending to consistent result to the suggestion.There are many sectors that use technical drawing as an
essential artifact in the execution of their projects. But the implementing arrangements are not restricted
to a particular market.Departments such as buildings, mechanics, architecture, among others, use a
standard graphical language in representation of the designed structure, with the research support and
information the nonprofit agency ABNT (which means, Brazilian Association of Technical Standards). In
these sectors, the technical design follows norms and technical regulations in all its representation, always
with the purpose of being the main link of communication between the design team and implementation
team.However, this article says with conviction the lack of parameters and foundation in technical
regulations and standards in the fashion design area, which is absent from a singular language and without
universal and standardized technical support, which should be established and / or suggested by the
competent body.

Keywords: ABNT. Technical drawing. Fashion design. Datasheet.

INTRODUCTION

The history of design basically starts with the history of the human kind, as the representation of a
graphic language has always been present in the evolutionary path of humanity and exerted great
importance in the development of communication and social expression."In the history of humanity, even
before writing represents reality, men used to draw."(OLIVEIRA; GARCEZ, 2004, p.74)

The drawings can be described as a fundamental evolutionary process to communicate ideas. “The
drawing begins in the imagination, before being a practical way to generate or communicate an idea.”
(HOPKINS, 2011, p.7)

1 Graduação em Design de Moda pela Faculdade de Divinópolis (FACED- FAD- MG), (2012). Atualmente é instrutor de formação
profissional - SENAI - Departamento Regional de Minas Gerais (História da Indumentária / Desenho Industrial e Ilustração /
Planejamento e Desenvolvimento de Coleção / Costura / Modelagem / Corte). E-mail: eralmeida@fiemg.com.br

2 Doutorando em Design (Universidade Anhembi Morumbi - São Paulo). Mestre em Educação, Cultura e Organizações Sociais pela
Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais - UEMG (2008) . Pós-graduado com especialização (Lato Sensu) em Moda e Estudos da
Indumentária pela Universidade Estácio de Sá - RJ (2002); Pós-graduado em MBA (Lato Sensu) Marketing e Inteligência de Mercado
pelo Pitágoras (2013), Licenciatura em Letras: Português/ Literatura pela Universidade Castelo Branco (2012 ), Licenciatura em
Gestão e Negócios pelo Programa Especial de Formação Pedagógica de Docentes no CEFET - MG (2011); Graduado em
Administração de Empresas pela Universidade de Itaúna - MG (2006); Graduado como tecnólogo em Formação de Ator (Teatro, TV
e Cinema) pela Universidade Estácio de Sá - RJ (2000), Graduação como Tecnólogo em Cinema pela Universidade Estácio de Sá - RJ
(2001) . Atua desde 2007 como professor universitário do curso bacharel em Moda ( FACED / FAD -MG ), e desde 2014 leciona no
Pitágoras (Divinópolis) nos cursos de Comunicação Social. E-mail: bessarodrigo@hotmail.com
 A short definition of “drawing” is known also as the representation of a particular episode, space
and / or object through lines, points and shapes by using techniques of perspective, proportion and filling
on a plane. (LUPTON and Phillips, 2004)

ABNT (Brazilian Technical Standards Association) is the Brazilian agency that establishes the main
normalizations to support the execution of technical drawings, consequently promotes the interpretation,
production and scope as the projection is.

This article aims to investigate how the technical design should provide accurate information and
avoid distortions of communication to get its purpose.To get it, it is necessary to raise the question whether
the fashion designs should be an instrument with a universal language, based on standards and technical
regulations or not. This will avoid ambiguities in the interpretation, leverage the consistency possibilities
between what is desired by the design team and executed by production team.

1 STANDARDS AND TECHNICAL REGULATIONS FOR A TECHNICAL DRAWING

The execution of a technical design requires details and external perceptiveness from a designer
who aims to convey all the direction to be followed during the process of production of an item through the
projection.To the total exclusion of ambiguities in subsidies transmitted in the technical design, the
universal language is essential.

ABNT (Brazilian Technical Standards Association) is the Brazilian agency that establishes the main
normalizations to support the execution of technical drawings, consequently promotes the interpretation,
production and scope as the projection is.

According to the ABNT3 website, approximately 20 standards are set by ABNT directly held to the
projection of a technical drawing (FIGURE 1).

Figure 1: technical design in accordance with the standards NBR 8403, NBR 8402 and NBR 12298. 4

"ABNT is the National Forum for Standardization for recognition of Brazilian society since its
founding in September 28, 1940, and confirmed by the federal government through various legal
instruments.[...] The ABNT is responsible for the publication of the Brazilian Standards (NBR),
arranged by Brazilian Committees (ABNT / CB), Sectorial Standardization Bodies (ABNT / ONS)
Commissions and Special Study (ABNT / CEE). Since 1950, ABNT also operates in conformity
assessment and have programs for certification of products, systems and environmental
labeling.This activity is based on internationally accepted guidelines and technical principles and

3
Tecnologias e materiais. Disponível em http://www.abnt.org.br/tecnologia-de-materiais , searched in 30th November 2016.

4
Figure Source 1: https://projetosmecanicos.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/116/ , searched in 30th November 2016.
 grounded in technical structure and multidisciplinary auditors, ensuring credibility, ethics and
recognition of rendered services. "5

The designer must be able to answer any kind of question and production doubts through the
information contained in the technical drawing. As well as those involved in the production process must
be able to read the illustration.Based on the need, which has become common facing the industrialization
and mass production, some standards are needed to support the transcription of information designed in
technical drawings and facilitate the understanding and interpretation.

“In an economy where competition is fierce and where the requirements are ever-increasing,
companies rely on their incorporation capacity of new product technologies, processes and services.
International competition between companies eliminated the traditional advantages based on the
use of abundant factors and low cost. The increasing standardization is used as a way out to achieve
the reduction of production cost and the final product, while maintaining or improving quality."6

Thus, the body of standardization and technical regulations states methodologies that are made to
establish principles and guidelines that overlap processes, products and services, and aim the excellent
ordination.

Technical regulations are more stringent, although it establishes principles and as a rule, the difference is
that they are legal documents, guided before an authority that compels compliance, product, service or
parts of them.

"In fact, the theoretical or practical knowledge, lacking the means for its conservation and
transmission, means little to itself. Human work becomes material by means of procedures, rules,
instructions, models, which can be repeated taught and learned. Without this fundamental
condition - the expression of knowledge in rules understood by the other - the material civilization is
unable to reproduce. Teaching and learning to create are acts that require a common language."7

By establishing a guideline to follow, the body of standardization and technical regulation aimed at
the benefit of industry and consumers. So the rules are necessary benefits, which are in addition to
standardizing the manufacturing processes, reduce costs and meet the compulsory technical regulations
also contribute to the consumer who is supported as the highest security in the use of the product and
practicality established by standardization.

2 TECHNICAL DRAWING APPLIED TO FASHION

There are many sectors that use technical drawing as an essential artifact in the execution of their
projects. But the implementing arrangements are not restricted to a particular market. Departments such
as buildings, mechanics, architecture, among others, use a universal language, that is, a standard chart on
the representation of the projected structure. In these sectors, the technical design follows normalizations
and technical regulations in all its representation, always with the purpose of being the main link of
communication between the design team and implementation team.

While the aforementioned authors rigorously apply existing standards and technical regulations
established by ABNT, the object of study that is the clothing manufacturer sector of fashion products, in
addition to not love this done in the projection of his creations (FIGURE 2), has got no standard or universal

5
Conheça a ABNT. Available in < http://www.abnt.org.br/abnt/conheca-a-abnt>, searched in 30th November 2016.

6Recomendações e dicas da ABNT. Available in <http://www.abntonline.com.br/ad/ex/rec_dicas1.html> , searched in 30th

November 2016.

7
A história da ABNT em detalhes. Available in < http://www.abnt.org.br/abnt/conheca-a-abnt>, searched in 30th November 2016.
language that gives satisfactory subsidies to professionals immersed in the execution of the item, meaning,
rules and regulations that are proposed by a competent body.

Figure 2: A dress technical design 8

Therefore, it is stated with conviction the lack of parameters and foundation in technical standards
and regulations, which inform the production team properly and aim mainly to the quality in the process,
product and service.

Facing the need of sharing information and meanings of what is fashion technical drawing,
established by the following authors: Treptow (2003, p.148) defines it as: "[...] known as planned design or
specification of design." Morris (2007, p.76) states that: "Several terms are used to describe the drawings
that specify the details of a garment [...]". Leite and Velloso (2004, p.8) certify that: "[...] an object rests on
the volume of the body, following its forms [...] the design needs to play the body recesses."

Based on studies on fashion technical drawing consolidated before the affirmative imposed onLeite
and Velloso, Treptow and Moris, it is worth noting the lack of standardization, technical regulation and a
universal language; because, for example, the clothing manufacturer sector, the technical design is usually
the technical file component and complemented by other prominent information.

3 DATA SHEET AND TECHNICAL DRAWING

The technical drawing is in most cases the basic information sheet, which as stated by Treptow
(2003, p.165) this document is the description of a piece of collection.

"The data sheet document is descriptive of a piece of collection. With it, the costs of industry and
commercial department shall provide the sales price. The planning sector and production control
calculate the inputs needed to manufacture as ordered, and the purchasing department will effect
on the acquisition of raw materials (fabrics and haberdashery) (TREPTOW, 2003, p. 165). "

On Treptow analysis (2003), it appears that in addition to supporting the process of realization of an
item, the sheet has the additional function: to generate the cost of manufacture and sale of the item,

8
Figure source 2: http://www.observasc.net.br/moda/index.php/producao/modelagem/1459-2014-10-01-13-31-32, searched in
30th November 2016.
calculate the amount of inputs and acquire correct amount of raw material in order not to generate
inventory and does not lead to missing and input during the production process. However, in practice each
company adopts or create a sheet model, some with more information and a few other specifics about the
design of the product. (FIGURE 3 and 4)

Figure 3: Sheet of fashion designer RenataPerito9

Figure 4: Sheet of the fashion designer CintiaYumi Nakagawa10

9
Figure Source 3: http://www.renataperito.com/?p=2078, acesso em 16 de outubro de 2015.

10
Figure Source 4: https://francysrodrigues.wordpress.com/category/curso-de-moda/ , searched in 30th November 2016.
 To aim for overall success in the use of technical specifications in a production environment, it is
necessary that the key artifact of communication of this document, the technical design, has concise
language and convey clearly and accurately model information without minimizing the importance of other
topics.

All overriding information for the production of the item must be present in the data sheet clearly
that precludes any doubt as to the model and design, so says Morris (2007, p.76): "The traces of a technical
design should be clear, clean and accurate. " input information, decorative elements and operational
sequence are also important, and will help in the process of implementation, according to Treptow (2003,
p.167).

It is noteworthy the relevance of a fact sheet with consistent preparation and fair to the company's
production methodology and its employees, as each company develops the plug with their interests. "The
criteria are set according to the type of product and organization of production, and the fashion designer
designs the drawing based on their training, that is, clothing is illustrated in two dimensions (front and
back). The formatting of a sheet is flexible, there is no [...] rule "says Leite and Velloso (2004, p. 147), and
also point out that this document is intended to inform all relevant product issues through technical
drawing.

Leite and Velloso (2004, p. 147) point out that this document is intended to design all relevant item
data, such as inputs, benefits, cost of labor and production, among others. "The statement should contain a
descriptive memory of the product", they add.

Having said that, the technical data sheet has the function of establishing production methodology
in an organized and systematic manner. So it is important that the fashion designer knows how to prepare
and fill the instrument with extreme detail, as it should be considered that many professionals will have
benefitswith the information and the drawing representation of the process to perform their tasks only
with this document.

Any mistake can cause a lot of damage and setbacks. According to Treptow (2003, p 165.): "Errors
or lack of precision in the fulfillment of the technical file data can cause numerous problems such as
incorrect purchase of inputs (changed reference, excess or insufficient quantity) and failures in determining
cost of product. "

A according ascertained from the publications of Leite and Velloso, Treptow and Morris, is that: the
technical drawing is the information with the highest level of importance of a technical data sheet.
According to this agreement between the authors, technical design must provide accurate information and
avoid communication distortions to reach its purpose. An accurate instrument to achieve this purpose is
that the design has universal language, based on standards and technical regulations to avoid ambiguities
in the interpretation. It alsorises up the possibilities of consistency between what is targeted by the design
team and executed by the production team.

FINAL NOTES

The drawing in the history of society as transmission tool, in the early days of human history and in
contemporary times, always had an important role in the media.

The technical design that emerged parallel to a large industrial development, aimed to benefit the
realization of articles designed from its methodology. With the expansion and dissemination of their use,
common procedures were assigned and adapted through normalization and technical regulations to allow
that the language could be executed, read and interpreted without consent dualities or mistakes.

In Brazil, the norms and technical regulations established by ABNT established communication
languages and are extraordinary benefits that should not be overlooked or minimized in the projection of
building work, mechanics and architecture. These communication agreements establish that producing
quality and consumer satisfaction as a key condition.

On the study of standards and technical regulations, it is found that the purpose of these
agreements is exclusively for the benefit of all processes which the product passes to the execution
procedure.

The speed of the clothing manufacturer industry requires that products are created, designed,
accomplished, marketed and promptly replaced in weeks. The common cycle of the items in this sector
does not have the same projection time available as a mechanical diagram, electronic, or even a
building.However, this does not justify the lack of a universal language of technical drawing in the data
sheet.

A possibility that favors the fashion industry is exposure studies and reminiscent methodologies to
trace the technical design of fashion, and subsequently submitting certain agreements to standards bodies
and technical regulations and their approval committee.In this manner, the procedures make the language
of the technical drawing as a unified fashion according decreasing or even all extinguishing misconception
of the language.

For the professionals involved in the execution, they would be greatly favored with this
"standardization" of the design, as all properly trained would present easy ability to design, interpret and
carry an item from a standard fashion technical drawing.

REFERENCES

ABNT, available in < http://www.abnt.org.br/>, searched in 30th November 2016.

HOPKINS, John. Desenho de Moda. Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2011.

LEITE, Adriana Sampaio; VELLOSO, Marta Delgado. Desenho técnico de roupa feminina. 1 ed. Rio de
Janeiro: Senac Nacional, 2004.

LUPTON, Ellen; PHILLIPS, COLE. Novos Fundamentos no Design.1° Ed. Cosac Naify, SP, 2004

MORRIS, Bethan. Fashion illustrator: Manual do ilustrador de moda. 1 ed. São Paulo: Cosacnaify, 2007

TREPTOW, Doris. Inventando moda: Planejamento de coleção. 3 ed. Brusque: do autor, 2005.

TRINDADE, Bernardete. Ambiente híbrido para a aprendizagem dos fundamentos de desenho técnico
para as engenharias. Florianópolis, 2002. 118f. Tese de doutoramento em Engenharia de produção –
Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia de Produção, UFSC, 2002. Available in <
https://repositorio.ufsc.br/handle/123456789/83731>, searched in 30th November 2016.