What is conceptual design? And how to wrap your mind around ideation

How do you design an idea? This might sound like nonsense, but visual communication (such as graphic design) requires meaning in order to convey a message. This means that to create an effective design you must have a reliable way of establishing a core, compelling idea early on in each project. That process is called conceptual design.

Because conceptualization occurs in the mind, it can be fairly easy to overlook. But conceptual design is the foundation on which good design stands, and even technically brilliant designs can fail without a solid, backing concept. With that in mind, we’re going to walk through what conceptual design is and how to apply it to your projects.

What is conceptual design?

Conceptual design is a framework for establishing the underlying 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 (often used in the preproduction phase of a film or a video game) that conveys the vision of the artist for how the final product might take form. Similarly, conceptual design occurs early on in the design process, generally before fine details such as exact color choices or illustration style. The only tools required are a pen and paper.

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.

Essentially, the concept is the plan, and the execution is the follow-through action. Designs are often evaluated for quality in both of these areas: concept vs execution. In other words, a critic might ask: what is a design trying to say, and how well does it say it?

Most importantly, you can’t have one without the other. A poorly executed design with a great concept will muddle its message with an unappealing art style. A well-executed design with a poor concept might be beautiful, but it will do a poor job of connecting with viewers and/or expressing a brand.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the concept whereas execution involves studying the particulars of design technique.

The purpose of conceptual design

The purpose of conceptual design is to give visual shape to an idea. Towards that end, there are three main facets to the goals of conceptual design:

 

To establish a basis of logic

Artistic disciplines have a tendency to be governed by emotion and gut feeling. Designs, however, are meant to be used. 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.

To create a design language

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.

As explained earlier, 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.

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.

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.