The first mockup rarely works perfectly, but it reveals secrets CAD can't: - How an object feels to hold - How it lives in its context - How users interpret it - How proportions translate to reality Early in my career sketching and rendering fascinated me. I grew up with a love for art and visuals So, naturally I sketched a lot which meant tons of ideas to sift through. Probably also a result of being in design consulting for most my professional life. Now, I find joy in carefully selecting and refining ideas rather than generating hundreds. This is probably the natural transition for most designers as well. The real excitement in the process really comes from validating and knowing that your ideas work. I'll leave you with a few thoughts on building and validating: 1) Physical prototypes unlock tactile insights: CAD can't replicate the feel of a product in your hand. Build early to understand ergonomics and user interaction. 2) Context is king: Seeing a prototype in its intended environment reveals design flaws or opportunities invisible on screen. 3) Rapid iteration beats perfection: I've found that creating 3 quick, rough prototypes often yields better results than obsessing over one "perfect" version. 4) User feedback on physical objects is revealing: People interact with physical prototypes in unexpected ways, providing insights you'd never anticipate from sketches/CAD alone. 5) Prototyping develops your designer's intuition: The more you build, the better you become at predicting how 2D concepts will translate to 3D reality. Alright, that's it! happy building! #industrialdesign #productdesign
Prince Mukherjee
2mo
Absolutely love the focus on tactile insights and rapid iteration! Just wondering how do you decide which ideas to prototype first? Sushant Vohra
Bruce Hannah
2mo
Mock It Up Before You Fock It Up!
Great insights!
Alex Nagel
2mo
Awesome insights, Sushant Vohra! 👏🏽
what we are taught - what we enjoy - and what makes most sense are often different things. As an educator myself I feel often techniques are just taught for the sake of it or because somebody uses it mainly. But the why often is not considered or how with new better tools workflows simply adjust. That’s why I feel this sketch first 3d model later is out dated because each medium only allows you to learn a specific insight. When I work with students it is a constant mix of materials and tools we use. Sure sketching is faster for side profiles and super fast studies I rarely sketch in 3D anymore even see it as a waste of time like fancy Photoshop renderings. Here 3d modeling in cad or with polygons simply offer a way more superior and productive workflow But then even in the 3D apps I sketch over or make screenshots and explore some details via sketching or simply document it. Actually sketching is still very relevant when communicating with clients too who often tend to fall in love with hot 3d renderings so we show them material that wont distract them. And 3D printing is so affordable now-it is such a great additional tool to use to verify ideas. Sketches-3d CAD can look top but then when in physical form show issues
Brian W.
2mo
I also came from that sketching background. “Pump out those ideas!” we were told. Being new and fast sketchers we were in heaven. But that was only the first step…. We then took those half dozen chosen directions and mock them up by hand. I found out I had a lot to learn, and discovered I really enjoyed and got pretty handy doing rough mock ups! It was, and became obvious how much info and resolution we could get making this step into quick 3D mockups. Valuable lesson.
Samyak Bothra
1mo
Couldn't agree more and these insights are something that have been helping me yield better results in comparison to just sketching out ideas.
Times have changed with easy access to scanning technology. creating prototype from hand mock-ups is a very fluid process
Designing for humans means getting your hands on concepts in full 1:1 scale. Love this Sushant
Industrial Designer @ Hoshizaki America
2moAs I start prototyping I tend to start with simpler materials and found a rather unorthodox material in flexible foam sheets, that lets me craft those curved surfaces with ease. But yeah by the end of the project, I am often left with a tub full of prototypes which I don't know what to do with.