Computer-Aided Designer - Fashion

Career
Fashion designer

Zeal for fashion designing can be amplified through creating innovative sketches,
prints, patterns, designs, and styles on CAD. The software helps create different
variations of a single design quickly and precisely and applies it to different cloth
materials and patterns.

WHAT DO COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGNERS DO? WHERE DO

COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGNERS WORK? FS TAKES A LOOK:
About Computer-Aided Designer :

Computer-aided designers in the fashion industry use computer

software to create sketches and other designs used to create
clothes, accessories, shoes, intimate apparel, and more.
Computer-aided design or “CAD” is fast becoming the future of
sketching in the fashion industry. According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, a growing number of fashion designers translate
hand sketches to the computer, which allows designers to view
designs of clothing on virtual models and in various colors and
shapes. This saves time by requiring fewer adjustments of
prototypes and samples later.

Computer-Aided Designer Job Description:

What do computer-aided designers do and where do they work?

Computer-aided designers use computer software to create

sketches of designs. They use the software to create prototypes
for clients, employers or for designs that will eventually become
a part of their own private collections. Computer-aided designers
work for retail companies, fashion designers, textile companies,
apparel manufacturers, and design studios.

Becoming a Computer-Aided Designer :

Computer-aided designers in the fashion industry typically have

a bachelor’s degree in fashion design, fashion merchandising,
fine art with a computer-aided design focus, computer-aided
design, or industrial design. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in
any of the areas listed (or a related field), most employers prefer
applicants with solid experience in the industry.

It is virtually impossible to obtain a position as a computer-aided

designer without creativity and technical knowledge. According
to the Bureau, while applicants must have advanced knowledge
of CAD software other qualifications are just as important.
Manual sketching ability is still essential as well as a sense of
balance and proportion and an eye for color and detail.

Benefits and Importance of Computer Aided Design in Fashion

Industry
1. Using CAD software, a fashion designer can develop new
sketches, patterns, varieties of prints more quickly and
accurately. With the evolutionary use of CAD, fashion designers
can create multiple modifications of a single design or style and
adapt it as per the requirement.
2. It is known that not all colors work for all kinds of designs. A
certain color might work for a particular design pattern but might
not work for other patterns. This is where CAD comes for the
designer’s relief. CAD helps in exploring more colors among the
designs to help you get the perfect color that brings out the
pattern individually.
3. In fabric designing process, it allows the designers to work with
different fabric patterns and textures. This will ultimately reduce
the cost and will save the time taken to deal the patterns
manually.
4. As the whole process can be done on virtual version and very less
part of the whole process is an actual physical, so the raw
material cost of collection development in fashion designing can
be reduced to a minimum.
 5. CAD also allows the fashion designer to explore various color
ways of a print developed as compared to the traditional design
methods, where the modifications and rectifications are more
fast as well as more accurate, as it reduces rooms for errors.
6. CAD helps designers in lot of aspects. Previously, it was very hard
to give life to a design by solving sewing errors. CAD helps in
rendering a similar model design with exact specifications which
gives idea to the designers for rectifying the errors and modify
the design.
7. Instead of saving your work on paper, clipboards and albums or
in hard copy, if you have soft copies of your work, chances of
losing your work will be very less as well as it can be retrieved
very easily at any place and any time.

What is fashion design software?

Fashion design software is basically a computer-aided design (CAD) tool
that allows users to make 2D and 3D sketches, illustrations, and tech
packs with callouts to specific design and functions. The goal of using
fashion design software is to simplify communicating design ideas for
accurate samples, illustrations and production which runs later in the
supply chain. Once the designs produced using these software’s are
approved, they become the only source of truth for those constructing the
garment.
You may also like: Marker Making, Planning, Efficiency and Use of
CAD

1) Digital Fashion Pro: Professional Digital Fashion Sketching &

Illustration
Digital Pro is a good solution which is developed to start the fashion brand.
The package includes professional design software and different fashion
design templates, samples everything which is needed to make a business
in fashion digitally. It includes video and E-training guide that explains
the core functions of designing in a clothing line. This software is
specifically helpful to create technical sketches and design menswear,
women’s wear, kid’s wear, baby clothing, handbags, shoes,
and accessories.
2) TUKATECH: 3D Fashion Design & Garment Development Software
TUKATECH has two digital fashion software products, TUKAcad and
TUKA3D. It is particularly developed for designers and also for
manufacturers, the TUKAcad allows to create advanced patterns, grading,
and markers to streamline your production process. Key features include
pattern-making, automatic grading update with pattern changes, marker
making, and integration of artwork and logos.
3)Fashion: Fashion Design & Collection Management
When it comes to a software that will can help throughout the clothing
creation process, then it is C-DESIGN Fashion. The objective of this
software is to help designers to go from design to production. It allows the
creation of ready to wear collection through release of technical files that
include materials information, measurement chart, color matching,
labelling, and much more.
4) Pattern Smith: Cutting Solutions
The Award-winning software, that is Pattern Smith, is an instinctive and
easy to use solution specifically built for textile patterns. It provides
different templates, 2D or 3D drafting, editing, and nesting solutions.
Pattern Smith makes it simple to execute all the types of designs while
enabling to create, manage, and nest patterns and export files to your
cutting machine.
5) CorelDRAW Graphics Suite: Create Everything from Scratch
It is most popular vector design software which is used in the professional
computer aided fashion design industry, by many fashion designers to
draw their mannequins and to produce their design. The key features of
this include shape drawing tools and shaping options, vector illustration,
and layout. It is one of the oldest software, which is still used by
many fashion designers.
Application of Computer Aided Design (CAD) in Textile and
Apparel Industry:

1. In Yarn design
With the help of CAD software, fashion designers can select different types
of material for producing yarn, size of yarn, texture of yarn, according to
their requirement. When any new yarn is designed such as slub yarn,
multi twist yarn, multi count yarn or any other, fashion designers can get
clear visualization of the designed yarn that is what should be length of
the slub, size of the slub, etc. So that if any defects are there can be easily
identified and rectify, which creates less chances of mistakes in future.
Also the designs can be saved in system which can be utilized for future
project.

2. In Fabric design
CAD can be used in fabric designing which includes both surface design
and structural design. It acts as stimulation for all the types of fabric and
gives an idea to plan a complex weave, color scheme, etc. With the help of
CAD no of pattern can be created based on the design and can also
generate an infinite number of designs variation. Any kind of fabric design
can be created starting from plain to dobby and jacquard. Some of the
prominent software for this are Design Dobby, Design Jacquard
from Textronic, Pro Weave from Pointcarr, TUKAstudio for
TUKATECH, Weave It, Adobe Illustrator etc.
3. In Print design
With the help of CAD the fashion designers can select theme and color
according to their requirement. The motifs prepared can be resized,
recolored, rotated or multiplied depending on the designer’s goal. We can
draw the graphic pattern and fill in the colors. Nowadays, new CAD
systems are developed which have built in software to match swatch color
to screen color to printer color automatically. The main uses of CAD
system include creation of different designs print, or the interpretation of
artwork supplied by customers, the latter being either painted artwork,
fabric samples or possibly black and white film negatives.
4. In Apparel design
When it comes for the garment preparation, the process starts with a
proper design of the garment which will contain the shape of the garment,
any design or embellishment that will go on the garment etc. So all this
process can be done completely on computer system where we can design
the garment, check out color combinations, make changes if needed and
along with that documentation, proper fitting of the garment. Once this is
done, they can be made ready for pattern making. Most popular design
software are Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, AutoCAD,
Smart Designer Modern High Tech, Telestia Creator etc.
5. In Pattern making
The use of CAD in pattern making comes a great opportunity in garment
export house, fashion school, medium or large size garment business etc.
because of its features and simplicity. With the help of CAD the awkward
and tough job of pattern making which required skill technician can be
done with ease and accuracy. With the application of CAD the accuracy
and easiness of pattern digitizing, drafting, grading has increased many
folds. It also helps in visualizing and analysing the sizes and
measurements of different styles and various internal features such as
notches, button, drill holes. Some of the world-renowned patterns making
software are Lectra, Gerber Accumark, O/DEV by Optitex, TUKAcad by
Tukatech, Rich peace, Gemini CAD systems Wild Ginger etc.
6. In Cutting room operations
The main application of CAD in the cutting room is basically for marker
making which can be done manually or automatically through a powerful
algorithm providing the highest material utilization. Along with this, they
are also united with a CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) which are
generally spreading and cutting machine. It gives the information for the
spreader to prepare spread job, a number of plies included, spread length,
spreading mode etc. The world renowned cutting room software is
Integrated CAD by Gerber technology, Modaris by Lectra, GT CAD
Software, O/PRO by Optitex, SMARTmark Tukatech, Rich peace etc.

Future of CAD in the Apparel Industry

The way, in which technology and advancements are done, we can
anticipate a future wherein the entire process of garment
manufacturing and fashion designing would be done through machines
and software’s by a powerful algorithm and with very little human
presence. As On-demand manufacturing becoming the new way of
production CAD has already influenced the industry with its 3D visual
rendering of garments on to the human figures, 3D visualization, etc. It
will also play a very crucial role in a 3D printed fashion which is expected
to becoming the trend in the fashion industry. With CAD, today’s era is of
computerized sketches and illustrations which has huge potential of
changing this diverse industry, pushing forward the boundaries of fashion.
The growing use of CAD software leads to new trends and new evolutions
in fashion and textiles. In future the CAD can be integrated with AI
technology which will able to anticipate different actions and improve the
3D modelling experience, allowing users to repair or anticipate design
errors.