A contractor I work with said my detail callouts are 'like reading a novel'

He was looking at a foundation plan I drew for a job in Phoenix and said he had to hunt for the key dimensions. I usually put all my notes in one corner to keep the sheet clean, but maybe that's wrong. How do you guys set up your callouts so they're clear but not messy?

2 comments

2 Comments

cameron3715d agoTop Commenter

That contractor in Phoenix is onto something. I see this all the time with instruction manuals and recipe blogs. People hide the important info in a wall of text because they think it looks neat. Putting every note in one corner is like burying the salt measurement in a life story. The key dimensions should live right next to the thing they're measuring, even if it means a few more lines on the sheet. Clean is useless if you can't find what you need fast.

harperjackson5d ago

Totally feel that, @cameron371. My mom's old sewing patterns were the worst for this. The seam allowance or buttonhole spacing would be in a tiny crowded box on the edge, while the main diagram was just blank shapes. You'd have to cross-reference like three times and still mess it up. Makes you wonder if the person making the guide ever actually had to use it themselves.