Architectural diagrams are an effective way to learn about architecture, understand current trends in design, and improve your drawing skills. While most people consider drafting as a skill that can be practiced, there is actually another type of architectural diagram that goes beyond just line drawings!

Interior and exterior floor plans, site maps, perspective views, and three-dimensional (3D) models are all examples of spatial diagrams. Spatial diagrams use shape and position to convey information about size, location, and orientation of objects or areas.

This article will go into detail on how to take simple sketches and turn them into professional quality interior and outdoor space diagrams using free software.

Create a new diagram

So, let’s get down to business! You can begin by creating a new document or you can choose to create an existing one. Either way is fine, but it will depend on what type of diagram you want to make and what software you have installed.

If you don’t have any software, that’s okay! You can use Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Docs to achieve this. Both are free and very easy to use!

Many people start off using Excel as their computer program for drawing diagrams, but that isn’t necessary at all. There are many free and low-cost programs available online that allow you to design beautiful diagrams.

There are even some apps which combine both functions into one so you wouldn’t need to go back and forth between them anymore. Most of these can be found via your smartphone too so you never have to leave home without your toolbox!

And once you have designed your diagram, you can easily edit it or add more detail to it. Just like with writing a book, you can just take your time when needed.

Create shapes

The next step in learning how to architect is creating your first shape. You can do this easily by going into any website designer’s toolbox or drawing app like Adobe Illustrator, Sketch, or Photoshop. Any of these apps are fine!

Any of those apps have a tools section where you can find the option to create a new document, canvas, or box. Once there, choose something simple like circle or square and drag it around the screen until you get a feel for how it works.

After that, add some thickness to make it slightly more realistic and start adding parts to your architecture design! Keep layering, moving, and shaping pieces to achieve your goal of designing a beautiful house or skyscraper.

Link and place them

The second way to diagram flow is using link and placement diagrams. Like floor plans, these are two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional spaces, but instead of showing a room as an area and position, they show connections between areas or rooms and positions, giving you more in depth information about your space.

Link diagrams focus on linking one space to another. For example, if you wanted to know where there’s a good source of natural light in your workplace, you could create a link diagram with “light” as the connecting node. You would then look at each part of the diagram to determine which spaces have this light feature, and how much it helps promote work and sleep.

Placement diagrams do the same thing for interior features like furniture. They connect different pieces of furniture and determine whether that piece of furniture promotes productivity, relaxation, or both.

You can use these types of diagrams to evaluate any space — not just those with purposed designed layouts. As long as you're looking for ways to improve their functionality, then these is definitely worth trying out!

These diagrams can also be done digitally, making it easy to manipulate, rotate, and resize everything. While most software packages offer some kind of drawing tool, many allow you to add additional nodes (connecting lines) directly from the app itself, which is very helpful when doing lots of drawings quickly.

Create relationships

The next step in diagramming is creating relationships. A relationship is when two objects are connected or linked together. For example, you can make a relation between the house and bedroom floor plans as a parent-child relationship.

A common way to create a relationship is by using the connect tool. This tool allows you to either draw lines to show connections, use templates that already have connection styles, or choose an existing link from another diagram.

You will want to be very careful not to place too many relationships onto your diagram. It may get cluttered and hard to identify what every object connects to. Make sure your diagrams are clear first!

Architecture diagrams should at least include a basic family unit (house, room, and bed) and then some additional components such as windows and doors.

Specific tips for creating a diagram

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Finish early

A very popular way to diagram is using an architectural drawing software that allows you to create diagrams directly from your computer. These tools have you pick your shape, type of diagram (flowchart, process map, Venn diagram, etc.), and length before saving and printing.

Some even allow you to connect shapes or arrows together, which makes creating complex diagrams much easier. Most use a free design template for their diagrams, so it does not cost anything to start off with.

By starting to diagram in this manner, you will eventually be able to create a professional looking diagram without having to pay a expensive designer! Many people begin by experimenting with these programs to see how well they work.

There are many free resources available online to help you learn how to use these apps effectively.

Use a guide

When you want to learn how to diagram, there are many resources available to help you out. You can purchase software that has diagrams in them or you can make your own using paper and pens or computer programs.

There are several good websites with free architectural diagram templates online. There are also some great books that have step-by-step instructions for making diagrams. By practicing with one of these guides, you will be able to create your own diagrams quickly!

Architectural drawing is an integral part of most professions beyond designing buildings. These drawings include site plans, floorplans, and even schematics and diagrams of systems like plumbing and electrical work.

Knowing how to draw basic shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles helps you begin to understand how to use diagrams effectively. Once you feel comfortable drawing those basics, you can move onto more complex diagrams.

Get a friend to look at it with you

Even if you are very comfortable drawing, designing or creating architectures, there is still one thing that can be tricky—how to diagrammatically represent spaces.

This can sometimes be difficult to do properly as there are many different styles and ways to describe space. Some people may use shapes to describe empty areas, while other’s may use colors to denote emptiness.

However, in both cases, they must be careful not to assume anything about the contents of the space. For example, if using color, then they should consider whether darker shades indicate a more private or secretive area, or if lighter colors mean an open area.

With shapes, some may feel that circles describe infinite spaces, but this cannot always be assumed. It depends on what content the shape has next to it. An ellipse can describe a larger space than a circle because it includes its vertical counterpart, which looks like it is rising up.