The tools EEs used even IN the DOS days were already graphical. Tablets were used for input, pre-mouse. Workstations were expensive, because they were graphics workstations, not text terminals. The chips DOS ran on were designed on graphical layout systems.
I was going to say the same thing. As an EE in the late 80s I got to use some kick-ass workstations and leading edge GUI frameworks (e.g. MentorGraphics). The company I worked for also wrote their own CAD system for VLSI design. I never touched DOS.
