'Different form of art'

By Matt Baker

Columbus has made its mark on the world of blueprints and patent sketches, thanks to engineers from Cummins Inc. and other local industries.

Now it's industrial design's turn to impress Columbus.

The Columbus Museum of Art and Design is showcasing "Doodles, Drafts and Designs," a traveling Smithsonian exhibit of industrial drawings through Aug. 19.

The four-part show follows an inventor's thought process from scribbles penciled on a napkin to detailed patent sketches etched into notebooks.

The first section, "Working it out," displays rough outlines for ideas such as a snowboard for the disabled and product testing for Crayola crayons.

Engineers clean their sketches in the next section, "Convincing," to market the idea to potential clients.

"It's kind of neat to show how they try to sell their product," said gallery attendant Sarah Wilkinson.

The third part, "Controlling," features detailed instructions to workers making the devices and colorful posters encouraging employees to keep their machines in good shape.

"It's just a cool concept, especially to put it in that section" Wilkinson said. "It suggests factories are kind of controlling the workers."

The exhibit ends with "Recording," a collection of detailed patents for such products as Tupperware lids and bras.

Bright doodles from local children and designs from students hang near the gallery.

The show's 75 pieces cover everything from the 19th century to the 1990s.

One blueprint shows workers how to make a vest to protect messenger pigeons during World War II, and a 1931 poster advertises burning oil because of its low cost and unending supply.

Some of the ideas featured - such as vehicles that run on rail and the road or goose decoys the size of a person - never reached production.

Engineers from Cummins and Purdue University have made the exhibit very popular since opening June 30, Wilkinson said.

"We usually get mostly kids and an older crowd, but we've had quite a lot of people from Cummins come in for this," she said.

Ray Keller said he enjoyed looking at the sketches as a retired engineer. He even noticed an error in one of the electrical design's descriptions.

"I thought it was great," Keller said. "It makes me hunger more for this type of thing."

Wilkinson said she hopes museum patrons leave the exhibit with a newfound appreciation for blueprints and the inspiration to jot down their own ideas on napkins.

"You think of industrial design as really boring, but I'm amazed by the detail and precision you have to have to do this kind of work," she said.

"It's just a different form of art."