Concepts, framed.
In context: Stage 06 · Design · sub-stage 06.10.00
The point where the chosen design direction stops being words and becomes shapes you can draw, compare and argue about.
The Concepts sub-stage of Design turns the brief and spec into tangible directions: brainstorm them, sketch them, pin the brand, then work the mechanical and electronic concepts. Explore widely before you commit to one, so the choice is made on evidence, not the first idea.
What the Concepts sub-stage is
This is where Design gets hands-on. You take the problem definition, the specification and the creative direction, and turn them into concrete concepts that can be drawn, compared and tested. The job is not to pick the winner yet. It is to open up two to four credible directions, stretch them against each other, and surface the technical and ergonomic snags early, while changing your mind is still cheap.
In my experience the teams that rush this regret it. Commit to the first idea and you never find out what the second one would have taught you. Explore three and the trade-offs (simplicity against performance, cost against finish) become visible instead of assumed.
For the £149 proofing box, this sub-stage is where Dan and Anna’s heated-box idea became drawable shapes in Stockport: a double-wall ceramic tub, where the rotary knob and OLED would sit, the wood band, the cavity for the Manchester PCB. We worked five concept directions on paper and screened them against the brief before anything touched CAD.
What’s in this sub-stage
Five activities take the Concepts sub-stage from a blank page to a direction worth engineering. Work them roughly in order.
How it fits the bigger picture
Concepts is the first sub-stage of Stage 06 Design. It builds on the design brief and specification set in Stage 05 Define, and feeds the detailed work of Stage 07 Engineer. Get a clear, well-screened direction here and the engineering stage has something solid to detail; rush it and Engineer inherits the guesswork.
What it can do
It opens up the design space and gives the team two to four credible directions to choose between, with the trade-offs visible. Done well, it ends with one direction worth engineering and a clear record of why the others were set aside.
What it can’t do
It can’t detail or validate the chosen concept; that is Stage 07 Engineer’s job. And it can’t rescue a weak brief or spec. If the inputs from Define are vague, the concepts will be too.
See the full 10-stage process →
Try it yourself
Take your own product and spend an hour generating three distinct concept directions, not variations on one. Sketch each, name what it optimises for, and write down its biggest risk. Then start with the first activity below to work them properly.
Or run the guided version. The Free Sprint covers the early stages; deeper design tools sit in the paid ladder. Start the Free Sprint →
— First in Concepts → Concept brainstorming