As your project progresses, the needs for your illustrations will change. For example, when you are still developing the product concept and finalising the design at the beginning of a project, you will need different illustrations than you will later on in the project.

The illustration style you need depends on your project's stage and what kind of information you need to convey. This blog post will look at the different types of illustration styles and when they are most appropriate.

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What are the main product concept illustration styles?

Idea sketch

These are quick, rough sketches that you use to capture an initial product idea or concept design. They don't need to be detailed or accurate and can be done quickly with just a few simple strokes.

Idea sketches are most valuable when exploring different ideas and concepts at the beginning of a project. They can help communicate your ideas to others, get feedback, and have a common understanding of which direction to take the project in.

The target audience for idea sketches is usually other people working on the project, such as designers, engineers or marketing team members; it helps to identify new opportunities for a great product quickly.

Detail drawing

As the name suggests, these drawings are more detailed than idea sketches and are used to capture the finer details of the design. They are usually done with more care and precision and may take longer to complete.

Detail drawings are most valuable when the design starts taking shape, and you need to start thinking about how all the different parts will come together. They can help visualise the final product and communicate your ideas to manufacturers or suppliers.

A detailed drawing can also help get an accurate quote from a manufacturer. The target audience for drawings with more detail is usually people involved in the product's production, such as manufacturers or suppliers.

Explanation sketch

These sketches are used to explain how something works or to communicate a complex idea. They often use arrows, labels, and other annotations to provide additional information.

Explanation sketches are most valuable when communicating complex ideas or creative solutions. For example, they can help explain a product's work, provide instructions, or troubleshoot problems.

Product functionality and components can be challenging to understand from a written description alone, so an explanation sketch can be very helpful in these cases. The target audience for explanation sketches is usually people involved in prototyping or manufacturing the product.

Info sketch

Info sketches are similar to explanation sketches but more focused on visually presenting information; this could be anything from a flow chart to a system's diagram.

Info sketches are most valuable when you must clearly and concisely present information as part of the product development process. For example, they can help make data more understandable, illustrating a method or providing an overview of a system.

People often use info sketches in data analysis or software development. The target audience for info sketches is people who need to understand the illustrated data or process.

Inspiration illustration

Inspiration illustrations provide visual inspiration for the project. They can be anything the team finds inspiring, whether it's another product, a piece of art, or even a photo.

Inspiration illustrations are most valuable when exploring different ideas and concepts at the beginning of a project. They can help get the team's creative juices flowing and generate and explore new ideas.

The target audience for inspiration illustrations is usually other people working on the project, such as designers, engineers or marketing team members, who help convey the project's vision.

Prescriptive sketch

Prescriptive sketches describe how you should do something. You can use them for anything from assembly instructions to user manuals.

Prescriptive sketches are most valuable when providing instructions or documentation for a product. They can be helpful for assembly instructions, user manuals, or even marketing materials.

The target audience for prescriptive sketches is usually people who will be using the product; this could be customers, assembly line workers, or even people who will be writing the user manual.

Memory sketch

Memory sketches capture memories or moments from the past. You can use them for personal projects or document an event.

Memory sketches are most valuable when capturing a feeling or emotion. They can be helpful for personal projects, such as a scrapbook or for documenting an event.

In product development projects, memory sketches can capture user feedback or document the team's process.

Presentation rendering

Presentation renderings present the product realistically. They are often used for marketing materials or investor presentations.

Presentation renderings are most valuable when you need to present the product realistically. They can be helpful for marketing materials, investor presentations, or your reference.

Prospective customers, investors, or even people interested in the product can be the target audience for presentation renderings.

Scenario and storyboard

Scenario and storyboard illustrations are used to visualise a potential future scenario or plan a story. They are often used in the planning stages to help flesh out an idea.

Scenario and storyboard illustrations are most valuable when you need to visualise a potential future scenario or to plan out a story. They can help plan or communicate an idea to others.

The target audience for scenario and storyboard illustrations is usually those involved in the planning process, such as designers, engineers, or marketing team members.

Sketch rendering

Sketch renderings are used to create a more polished version of a sketch. You can use them for anything from final illustrations to presentation materials.

A product idea sketch is the first step in the product development process. It is a rough sketch that shows the basic idea of the product. A rendering of that sketch can be used for anything from final illustrations to presentation materials and is often the next stage in the product development process.

Study sketch

Study sketches are done as part of the research process. You can use them to study a person, place, or thing early on. For example, product designers often use study sketches to understand how a product works or research new material.

Technical illustration

Technical illustrations are used to communicate complex technical information. They often make use of specialised annotations and symbols.

Engineering drawings, user manuals, and patent drawings are all technical illustrations created in the product design process. Technical illustrations are used to communicate complex technical information in a way that is easy to understand. They often make use of specialised annotations and symbols.

Usability sketch

Usability sketches are used to test out potential user interfaces. For example, you can use them to test how easy it is to use a product or find specific information.

As an end-user, you may not consider how the people who design and build a product use it. But usability sketches are a vital part of the product development process. They are used to test out potential user interfaces and ensure that the product is easy to use.

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What should you include in the product concept statement?

Imagine you had ideas for new products. You had ideas for a market for your idea. You're just starting out. It's useful for you to know everything about your project idea in your head. Put them on paper and develop the product concept. Tell me the meaning behind product design concepts? We're going to investigate. Even though all appreciate a fantastic finished product, most do not understand what the process is like for product development. In addition, the ideas and products are tested through numerous iterative stages, prototypes and commercial trials.

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What is the concept generation process?

Product Concept Generation / Design is an approach which begins with a list of parameters based upon a client's requirements and specifications. Based on the needs, concepts can identify different solutions to these problems. Many engineering firms overlook the phases because it seems too expensive. It's easier to get away and begin planning for the next step. However, seeing problems differently could produce ideas that are unlikely to come up without thorough thinking. It is thus essential to develop the product.

Step 1 – Understanding the Problem

The initial stages provide the groundwork for the subsequent steps. Taking care in the right direction makes development impossible. You are an engineer, so your customers might not always have all the information necessary. They may want to solve something and ignore much detail. So you need a lot of systematic thinking. Visit the location (e-commerce or production facility) and learn about the goals and requirements. All this contributes significantly to future progress. This way, you can ask many questions before writing something.

Step 2 – Research established solutions

Before developing an individual design, get acquainted by reading the available resources. Research on similar issues can start innovation in product design. Your most important friend here would undoubtedly be Google. Find all your issues and problems. The client turns to you for a few reasons. First, he may not have found the information he had searched for. He may require custom solutions. Perhaps the market has nothing that can meet these needs.

Step 3 – Brainstorming and Ideation

Let's take the research stage out and move on to the creative part of the design. We always suggest generating at least three different options for engineers. You can find many other ideas as you go through those options. However, the three who have passed the initial decision will detail this further; this involves manufacturing techniques and the detailed evaluation of complex parts and components. So let's get to this point.

Step 4 - Converting the idea into sketches.

The idea is taking shape. But it's still not a product design. So how do you turn an idea into a product design? This is where the concept sketch comes in. First, you turn the idea into a basic drawing communicating the overall look and feel of the product; this is a good starting point for the development of the product. The concept sketch should be simple and easy to understand. It should not include any unnecessary details.

Step 5 - Refining the sketch.

You refine the concept sketch and create more detailed illustrations. These sketches are used to communicate the product design to the client. They are also used to communicate the plan to the engineering team. Therefore, the illustrations should be straightforward to understand. They should include all the necessary details.

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Explore with low investments

The initial phases of the development process require relatively minimal investment, although you will most likely define the products during these initial phases. After that time, the stakes were higher (in engineering, production and marketing). In this phase, significant changes to product concepts would have been costly. Therefore you should explore various options from a very early stage to make a well-thought-out choice among product concepts.

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Why should you be creating multiple concepts?

You can say that developing multiple concepts takes more extended and more resources. Why do companies spend money to build and create different products from one product concept to the next? It's not recommended to concentrate on one concept but focus on another. You want to explore every possible choice as soon as possible. You can't assess good product ideas until the concept of the product is developed.