Assessing the effect of non-photorealistic rendered images in CAD

Recent work in computer graphics has resulted in new techniques for rendering so-called non-photorealistic images. While such features are now already appearing in commercially available software, little is known about the effect of non-photorealistic images on users and their usefulness in specific contexts. In this paper we report on an empirical study with 54 architects who compared the output of a sketch-renderer for producing pencil-like drawings with standard output of CAD systems for architectural designs. The results show that the different kinds of renditions actually have a very different effect on viewers and that non-photorealistic images actually do deserve their place in the repertoire of CAD systems.