Design of products, buildings, clothing, etc., has historically been largely a two-dimensional affair. The life of a new product starts when it gets sketched on a piece of paper (or on a computer screen, using CAD or other design programs). The specs then get fleshed out, a prototype is created, and the rest is history—unless there's a design flaw, where something in the basic design or sketch was “off.” Then it's back to the drawing board.
While design is restricted to two dimensions, designers need to be able to jump into the third dimension, envisioning what their creation will look like in the real world. It's about more than just looks; a design has to take into account how something will interact with the world.
For some programs, though, a few of the most often-asked questions seem to lack adequate-enough answers:
- Will the designer’s creation fit and behave the way the designer wants?
- Is the design optimized for manufacturing?
- Is the product something that is feasible on an assembly line, or does its design veer from the standard systems that companies are counting on to quickly and cheaply reproduce the item?
These are questions that designers typically have to face every time they pick up their drafting pen, and it's the main reason why designers ask if a prototype can be built. The problem with prototypes is that they can take months to build, and often will see multiple iterations. Knowing how difficult the process is, designers are forced to be conservative with prototypes. It's only natural that designers will err on the side of caution, given the expense and hassle of changing designs, which means that some of the best ideas may never see the light of day.