Build a model of a new idea that approximates its appearance and behavior
Model making is the fundamental craft of design—it is the process of thinking with your hands. Low-fidelity sketch models make it easy to generate a number of tangible concept ideas without significant monetary or time investment, allowing you to bring form to even nascent ideas.
Using readily available, low-cost materials such as paper, markers, cardboard, foam core, glue, and so forth, you can quickly create concept models for people to evaluate. The sooner you create something tangible for people to touch and manipulate, the earlier you’ll get meaningful feedback about your ideas. You can use rough models to help identify ideas that are working, as well as pinpoint weaknesses early in the process so they can be addressed before the concept is finalized. As architect Frank Lloyd Wright said, “You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site.”