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Conceptual design

Design low-fidelity alternatives for the user interface framework

The conceptual design is the phase where everything that was learned so far is synthesized into:

  • the definition of the required screen or page types (a screen type is a kind of template for all screens with similar content and behaviour)
  • low-fidelity user interface sketches or wireframes (without data, controls or colors, but with lines defining the borders of the different zones in a screen)

conceptual design

The low-fidelity character of the conceptual design enables to critiquing, modifying the design and further exploring alternatives without having to worry too much about the cost of changes. The wireframes for each screen type illustrate alternatives for:

  • the main structure and basic layout of each screen type
  • the different zones or visual components of each screen type (e.g. top menu, navigation menu, work zone)
  • applicable idioms, metaphors and design patterns (e.g. shopping cart, dashboard, list/detail view)
  • the main interaction and navigation concepts (e.g. separation of consulting and editing, wizard, feed-back)
Risks: 

One often starts immediately to think towards one solution and design in detail. Such an approach reduces the room for lateral thinking, critique and rationale building, which are essential elements of a good design process.

Effort: 

The effort required for a conceptual design depends on

  • how far the design explorations go (how many alternatives are worked out)
  • how many screen or page types are to be designed
  • the desired degree of detail at this point

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