Sketch Renders: A Starting Point

So you’ve got an idea for a product. Maybe you know what you want it to do but have no idea how it might look. Or maybe you know how you want it to look, but it’s hard to describe it to your friends. You need to start sketching.

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Sketching is a simple and important way for you to explore your own ideas visually and better define what it is you’re actually trying to do. Sketches help to demonstrate functionality, visualize user flow, illustrate anything that requires human interaction, and make a general point of key design features. The idea is to keep your sketches fast, rough and dirty. This helps you worry less on design aesthetics and focus more on rapid formulation of ideas. Drawing can generate many options very quickly and it is important to explore these early design concepts in the low cost and time efficient medium of sketching as a starting point for your design progression.

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But I can’t sketch!

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Nonsense, everyone can sketch. It’s one of the first things children do. Sketches don’t have to be professional looking to start with, they just have to communicate an idea. The beauty of sketching is that all you need is a pen and paper and you can begin to explore and explain design concepts. If you haven't already, just drawing your thoughts down on a piece of paper will most likely highlight a range of issues or considerations with your design which were previously unaware of in your mind. This is because sketching is a rudimentary form of prototyping. We are visual creatures. Instead of running thought experiments through your mind, just visualising your idea on paper will help simulate how the product might look and feel in real life. Sketching will help define and manifest considerations regarding:

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- Identity, memorability, style, expressiveness, aesthetic, user preference

- Symbolism, historical context

- Usefulness, function, durability

- Economy, complexity of design, potential manufacturing processes

- Material attributes and characteristics

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No but seriously, my sketches are really bad!

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Granted, some people are born with a bit more artistic proclivity than others. Perhaps sketching isn’t your strong suit. Don’t worry, you’re part of the majority. There will come a point in time where you will need high quality visual communication of your product. These professional renders will take what you have done and add a whole bunch of polish to them. Professional sketch renders are especially important when you are beginning to share your idea with others, perhaps potential investors or designers, it’s important to have a well defined and crisp visual communication to be taken seriously.  

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At B.Product, we offer a specialised sketch render service in our pre-design package. Click here for more

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