Concept design

Concept design is where a project is still open. The brief is interpreted, the site is studied and several directions are explored before one is chosen. Typical outputs are massing studies, plan diagrams, sketches, precedent images and a short narrative of the idea. The US AIA sequence calls the following stage schematic design, and the UK RIBA Plan of Work names stage 2 concept design; in everyday use the term covers the earliest design work in both.

How it shows up in a project

• Speed matters more than polish. The aim is to compare options, so several rough images are worth more than one finished one.
• Keep options visually comparable: same view, same light, same level of detail, so the client judges the idea and not the rendering.
• Hand sketches and simple massing models are normal inputs. They do not need to be clean to be useful.
• A moodboard often accompanies the concept to set material and atmosphere expectations.
• Decisions made here are the cheapest to change, which is why testing them visually early pays off in design development.

In Rendair

Sketch to Render turns a quick drawing into an image within the same meeting, and Render Variation produces alternatives of a result so options can be laid out side by side on a board. Choosing a drawn style such as Artistic Sketch can keep the images looking unfinished on purpose, which suits an early stage.