Information Technology

The Purpose of Conceptual Design

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 Objective:
Analyze the purpose of conceptual design

1. What is a conceptual design?

2. The purpose of conceptual design
a. Establishing a basis of logic
b. Creating a language design
c. Achieving originality

3. Conceptual design approach

4. Big dream with conceptual design
5. Conclusions

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 1. What is a Conceptual Design?

Conceptual design is a framework for

establishing the central idea behind a
design and a plan for how it will be
expressed visually.
It is related to the term, “concept art” which
is an illustration that conveys the vision of
the artist for how the final product might
take form.
Conceptual design has the root word
“concept,” which describes the idea and
intention behind the design. This is
contrasted by “execution”, which is the
implementation and shape that a design
ultimately takes.

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 2. The purpose of conceptual design

Establishing a basis
of logic

Creating a language
Achieving originality
design

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 A. To establish a basis of logic

Artistic disciplines have a tendency to be governed

by emotion and gut feeling.

Whether it is a piece of software or a logo, a design

must accomplish something practical such as
conveying information or expressing a brand—all on
top of being aesthetically pleasing.

Conceptual design is what grounds the artwork in

the practical questions of why and how.

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 B. To create a language design

Since the concept is essentially just an idea, designers must bridge the gap
between abstract thought and visual characteristics. Design language describes
using design elements purposefully to communicate and evoke meaning. The
conceptual design phase isn’t going to go as far as planning every stylistic detail,
but it will lay the groundwork for meaningful design choices later on.

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 B. To achieve originality
There’s a famous saying
that nothing is original, and
this is true to an extent.
The practice of design—
like any artistic discipline—
is old, with designers
building on the innovations
of those who came before.
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But you should at least
aspire to stand on the
shoulders of those giants.
And the concept and
ideation phase in the design
process is where truly
original creative sparks are
most likely to happen.
 3. Conceptual Design Approach

Definition

Research Verbal
ideation

Visual
ideation

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 A. Definition

You must start your One technique for doing Otherwise, if you fail to
design project by asking so is known as the Five get to the exact root of
why the project is Whys, in which you are the problem, your design
necessary. What is the presented with a solution would have
specific goal of the problem and keep been ultimately flawed.
design and what asking “Why?” until you And the design solutions
problem is it meant to arrive at a more just another way of
solve? understanding. describing the concept.

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 A. Research

Similarly, researching
similar designs from
competitors can help you
understand industry
This can start with getting
conventions as well as
information on the client
give you ideas for how to
themselves: history,
set your concept apart.
mission, personality and
Designs must eventually Finally, you will want to
market. In order for the
occupy space (whether research the work of
concept to speak
physical or digital) in the other designers in order
effectively to these
real world. For this to gather reference
people, you must
reason, a design concept material and inspiration,
conduct target audience
must be grounded in especially from those you
research to understand
research, where you will find particularly
who they are and what
understand the context in masterful.
they are looking for in a
which the design must fit.
design

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 C. Verbal ideation

Concepts are essentially thoughts. In order

to shape a concept into something
substantial, you need to draw some of those
words out. This phase is generally referred
to as brainstorming, in which you will define
your concept verbally.

There are also some helpful word-based

techniques, such as mind-mapping or free
association. In both of these cases, you
generally start with a word or phrase (it can be
based on some keywords from the brief). You
then keep writing associated words that pop
into your head until you have a long list.

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 D. Visual ideation
• At some point, concepts must make the leap from
abstract ideas to a visual design. Designers
usually accomplish this through sketching.

• One helpful approach is to create thumbnails,

which are sketches of a design that are small
enough to fit several on the same page. The goal
is to come up with sketches fast so that your ideas
can flow freely.

• Once you have a couple sketches that you like,

you can refine this into a much larger and more
detailed sketch. This will give you a presentable
version from which you can gather feedback.

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 3. Big dream with conceptual design

The rest of the design process is spent

executing the concept. You will use the
software of your choice to create a
working version of your design, such as a
prototype or mockup. Assuming your
design is approved by the client and test
users, you can go about creating the final
version. Conceptual design is the bedrock
of any design project. For this reason, it is
extremely important to get right. Creating
a concept can be difficult and
discouraging—over time, you might find
your garbage bin overflowing with rejected
concepts.

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 6. Conclusions

❑ Visual communication (such as graphic design)

requires meaning in order to convey a message.

❑ To create an effective design, you must have a reliable

way of establishing a core, compelling idea early on in
each project.

❑ Conceptual design is the foundation on which good

design stands, and even technically brilliant, designs
can fail without a solid, backing concept.

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