Conceptual design

Conceptual design 

The purpose of a conceptual design is to provide evidence for the solution of a problem and to show what distinguishes this particular solution from the others. It is therefore important to know which features or other information should be present in a conceptual design to perform this dual task.

Firstly, we need to know what the problem entails, how it is composed from the goals and requirements of the brief, the constraints of the location, the challenges designers undertake (aesthetic, typologic, structural etc.). This calls for an inclusive approach that does not prioritise or neglect.

Secondly, we need some objective criteria for describing and evaluating design claims: a basis for analysing features of the design and linking them not only to behaviour and performance but also to similar designs in comparisons that explain. Typology used to promise a lot in this respect.

So, in conclusion, it may be time for different conceptual design representations, less elliptical in terms of information and more robust and analytical than the sketches and diagrams we have been using for too long now.