Glossary of Terms

originate in the mind and purpose is to share the vision of the concepts, design thinking and development principles of a design.

are used to help us know and understand, design thinking, ideas, casual relationships, principles, data, systems, algorithms or processes.

the activity of planning and organising people, infrastructure and communication of a service in order to improve its quality and user experience.

shares ‘Big Picture’, makes it easy for non-designers and non-technical people to understand a complex idea, enables communication with clients and users to gauge people's reaction.

can lack detail or be misinterpreted, some models can be misleading and materials may not reflect the final choice and make it difficult to emulate.

measure of the realism of a model or simulation with the degree of similarity measures as low, medium or high to which a prototype is exactly like the final product

freehand graphical model, scale physical model or surface CAD model

perspective graphical model, aesthetic physical model or solid CAD model

orthographical graphical model, instrumented physical model or FEA CAD model

the development of ideas through graphical models which allows designers to explore and deepen their understanding of a problem and context of use

a visualization of an idea, often created on paper or through software, in two or three dimensions

Quick/simple and rough drawings of ideas used to convey or refine the idea

a type of drawing technique that depicts an object as getting smaller and closer together the further away they are using one, two or three vanishing points

a type of drawing technique that has fixed rules such as isometric projection, orthographic projection or perspective drawing

a type of drawing technique used to accurately show what a product will look like in a 3D view using 30˚, 60˚and 90˚

a type of drawing technique showing 2D views using a method of projection in which a 3D object is depicted using parallel lines to project its outline as front, side and plan view to a set scale

a type of drawing technique used to show an object in proportion to its actual size, e.g. 1:1 is full size, 1:2 is half size and 2:1 is twice the size

a type of drawing technique provides the information to assemble a product, sometimes a drawing of an individual parts to help know which part is broken and how to repair it

spontaneous and free hand drawings used very early in the design process

orthographic projection, exploded and assembly drawings used to enable manufacturers to produce the parts/product

shows the sequence/step by step set of operations to be performed in the form of a flow chart

models used to visualize and test physical aspects of a product against user requirements thorough testing to ensure the product is developed further

is a smaller or larger physical copy of an object that allows visualization from examining the model, of information about what the model represents

a type of a physical model developed to look and feel like the final product but does not function

a type of a physical model developed to test functionality

a type of high fidelity physical model built to test a concept both aesthetically and functional and used to aid design development

a type of physical model used to collect accurate data for analysis by the designers by testing the product to destruction

the ability to virtually prototype, visualize and share designs with greater freedom in customization and personalization of products

photo realistic images of a product, offering some machining data but no data about the interior of the product as it only shows the appearance of the CAD model

clear representations of the final product and provides a complete set of data for the product to be realized including all part dimensions and material type

a CAD model that explicitly determines the structure of data or structured data including statistical modelling

photorealistic CAD-based interactive models that use surface and solid modelling. They can be considered 'digital mock-ups'.

method of CAD modelling by using each component of the design independently with matching features to aid assembly of a final model

method of CAD modelling by incrementally designing the product's form and function by updating the entire assembly

computer simulation of a variety of mechanical and biological aspects of the human body used to interact with the animated prototype (e.g. Oil rig Platforms or Power station maintenance and access to equipment)

the recording of human movement using sensors, video, magnetic or electro-mechanical devices

emerging technology that interfaces the user via the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user using mechanical actuators

the ability to simulate a real situation and interact with it in a near-natural way using a headset

linking graphic screens together in such a way as to simulate motion or a process

the calculation and simulation of unknown factors in products using CAD systems including structural, mechanical, aerodynamic testing

creating dynamic and realistic modelling of ever-greater complexity using machines for prototype manufacture in an ever-increasing range of materials

a rapid-prototype technique that creates 3D models layer-by-layer by hardening molecules of a liquid polymer using a laser beam

a rapid-prototype technique that slices a 3D CAD model into layers, then cuts out each layer from a roll of material using a laser or plotter cutter and glues them to create a 3D model

a rapid-prototype technique that places melted layers of material on a bed to build up a 3D model

a rapid-prototype technique that uses a laser to fuse small powder particles of material into a mass that has a desired 3D shape