Diagrams are an important, if not pivotal, part in both education and design. In an effort to understand abstract concepts, students play an active role in their education by specifying visual and abstract concepts in hand-sketched diagrams. While students are understanding abstract concepts through hand-drawn diagrams, designers are creating those abstract concepts. Just as the act of hand-drawing a diagram (as opposed to using a mouse-and-palette CAD tool) better engages the student in the learning process, the act of hand-drawing a diagram also improves the design process by freeing the designer of constraints that may otherwise impede creativity and innovation.