concept and prototype rendering

In my work as a designer, I use the computer as a virtual prototype shop. I develop concepts and usually present projects with hand drawings. The two sets of skills are complementary but not really interchangeable. They accomplish different things.

showroom concept sketch

When I show drawings of spaces to clients, I usually use hand drawings. They are camera accurate in their general proportions because with drawings like the ones shown here, I first create a model in AutoCAD with enough detail to allow me to interpolate and extrapolate what I want to show. It's impossible to convincingly imply detail in a computer rendering - it's either there or it isn't. A hand rendering is evocative. It also, for most clients, feels much more personal. And it is.

TV screen raised

sideboard concept sketch

Getting down to exactly what I intend to see built, though, full computer modeling and rendering become essential. The precise profiles, and the relationship of parts to the whole, need the proof of prototyping. While it can be cumbersome, it's much more time and cost effective than actual prototyping in real materials.

design development prototype

Having developed a concept in sketch then digital form, I return here to a quick hand drawing to illustrate how the design might work in the showroom space.

showroom concept sketch

Using these two techniques, each to accomplish different goals, helps clients to feel and visualize what they need in order to feel confident and enthusiastic about ordering something that doesn't yet exist.