Conceptual Design Process and Tool
Learning Objectives
This part focuses on beginning the conceptual design stage. Specifically, we will discuss methods of creatively exploring and generating a large set of diverse potentials solutions. A management technique for organizing solutions and some techniques for evaluating and selecting concepts once a large pool of them has been generated. At the end of this part students will be able to:
- Identify several methods and best practices for creative concept generation
- Utilize a morphological matrix to manage and generate solution
- Develop a diverse set of concepts that satisfy all functional requirements of a product
- Utilize a Pugh chart to semi-objectively compare different concepts against criteria to make rational down-selection choices
Introduction
The following text is from the Delft Design Guide.
Daalhuizen, Jaap. 2018. Delft Design Approach, Delft University of Technology.
After the phase of problem analysis, the conceptual design phase begins. Conceptual designing means the creative act of thinking up product ideas and concepts. Once a design problem, requirements and a product vision have been formulated, product ideas and concepts have to be generated. An idea is a first thought that comes to mind, usually in the form of a simple drawing, without dimensions, proportions, shape and materials. Concepts are more developed, have materials, dimensions, shape, details and technical solution principles. Conceptual design is a process of creative thinking, of developing initial ideas into concepts and offering realistic solutions to the design problem. It is a divergent and convergent process in which ideas are generated, tested and evaluated and developed into concepts. Ideas are generated by means of creativity techniques, such as brainstorming or Synectics. In your evaluation of ideas, you bear in mind the design goal and the design specification. Visualizing is an important aspect in the creative phase of designing: often you explore early ideas by means of sketches. Three-dimensional models such as sketch models, mock-ups and prototypes are also used. Such representations of ideas can be used for simulation and for testing the ideas and concepts.
