IDEATION

[excerpts from Shaping Interior Space by Roberto J. Rengel]

-The decisions made during the early design stage become the foundations upon which the rest of the design is built.
-The concept of fit in interior design is concerned with issues of comfort, style, and occasion.
concepts start with no predetermined form
-design concept: an insightful and fitting overall basic strategy
-a concept in interior design could be said to be a general strategy or approach for the solution of a design problem having specific circumstances. A design concept aims to conceive a response to solve a design problem in a very particular way.
-The main concept addresses the main design problems of the project and provides a dominant structure or idea that all other design ideas adhere to.
-While some main concepts may consist of a single idea, most consist of a handful of ideas that, together, constitute a single, or at least consistent, approach.
-Concepts can be philosophical, thematic, functional, artistic, mood related, or stylistic.
-Design concepts can only be determined on a case-by-case basis when the particularities of a project are known. They are externalized through verbal statements, concept diagrams, and concept sketches.
-Written statements are most often used to convey character (image) concepts.
-The problem is that many written concept statements never get to the point. The point of design concept statements is to tell the audience, as efficiently as possible, about the designer’s approach to solve the design problem.
-The best design statements share the following three attributes:
1. Design concept statements speak more about the design solution than the design problem.
2. Design concept statements are selective.
3. Design concept statements are economical. [packs a lot of info into a short statement]
-To test a concept to determine whether it is a design concept, simply ask yourself the following question: Does this statement tell me anything about the approach to the design solution.
-One cannot possibly hope to address every single issue of the project in the design concept.
-ways of approaching design concept statements include the use of statements that try to paint a picture of the experience you can expect.
-Reducing the parts to a minimum requires some abstraction.
-Simple arrangements tend to work best.
-Young designers should also think simultaneously about order, enrichment, and expression while generating concepts.
-There are four important aspects to consider when coming up with the organizational concept for a project: placement, circulation, massing, and geometry.
-Relationships determine issues of proximity.
-The best organizational concept diagrams address the massing of the overall project.
-Generally speaking, it is a good practice to have less rather than more masses in space and simple rather than complex figurations.
-Recommended stages of concept development:
...understand the project
...identify salient issues
......this project is all about...
......truly significant aspects of the site include...
......unique aspects of this project include...
......the functional requirements obviously point to an organizational pattern that...
...a few adjectives that fit this project are...
...conceive workable approaches
...externalize the approaches
...consolidate ideas and choose a direction.
-There is a myth that concepts have to be unique and different.
-Ideas usually arise as thoughts, mental pictures, or diagrams or drawings while you sketch. It is important to capture ideas when they arise, even before judging them.
-Two ways to externalize concept approaches are visual and verbal.



Rengel, Roberto. Shaping Interior Space. second. New York: Fairchild Books, 2007. 138-71. Print.