Marketing design
12
min read
Conceptual design is the critical first step where ideas turn into direction. Before choosing colors or layouts, you define what your design is about — its message, purpose, and audience. This guide explains how to build strong design concepts step by step, with tools, frameworks, and real-world examples to help you move from blank page to clear vision.
Let’s be honest — “conceptual design” sounds like something you’d hear in a grad school seminar right before falling asleep, but it often starts with an initial idea and a clear vision. But in real life? It’s actually one of the most useful skills a creative person can have.
Whether you’re building a website, designing an app, or brainstorming a marketing campaign, there’s a moment when you have to pause and ask: Wait… what’s the big idea here for our target audience ? This is where your vision and the mission behind your project begin to take shape.
That’s conceptual design.
It’s where you decide what you’re trying to say before you worry about how it looks. Creative thinking is essential at this stage to generate innovative ideas and set the direction for your project. If design were cooking, this wouldn’t be the garnish or the fancy plating. It’s the recipe—the foundation of the entire design process. The thing that makes sure everything else actually works together.
And if you’re not sure how to get from vague idea to clear concept, TodayMade can help you shape the strategy and bring it to life.
In this guide, we’re going to:
If you’ve ever stared at a blank page and thought, “I have no idea where to start,” this is the first step in the process.
Let’s get into it.
Conceptual design is the conceptual design phase, early stage of the design process where you come up with the main idea behind a product, system, or project. Conceptual design occurs early in the design process, serving as the foundational phase where core ideas and visions are established before moving on to detailed development. It’s the conceptual design definition most professionals start with: shaping, defining, and establishing what you’re trying to communicate before figuring out how.
It’s not about picking fonts or drawing wireframes. It’s about defining and establishing the core idea that everything else will revolve around and determining what will guide the project. This core idea is often referred to as the design concept. Think of it as your North Star — every visual decision, message, or layout choice will point back to this one thing, establishing a foundation for the entire project.
Let’s say you’re designing a landing page for a climate app. Without a concept, you might just use generic “nature” imagery. With a concept like climate action feels personal, suddenly you’re building a story around individual impact. The design decisions get sharper.
A strong concept—or great concept—gives your work:
That’s the power of conceptual design. It gives your work meaning, not just style.
Knowing what conceptual design is is one thing, but knowing how to do it is where the real value lies.
Conceptual design isn’t magic. It’s a repeatable system — what many teams call the conceptual design process. This process consists of several stages and is an iterative process involving multiple iterations and the generation of ideas to explore and refine solutions. You might adjust the order or loop back between steps, exploring alternatives and refining them through multiple iterations, but the overall flow tends to look like this:
By following these stages, the process leads to the development of a strong concept.
Start by figuring out what you’re actually trying to solve. A conceptual designer knows to ask questions that uncover the root issue, not just surface-level symptoms, and to clearly define the project's purpose.
Use the “Five Whys” method to dig deeper.
“We need more signups.” Why? “People aren’t clicking the CTA.” Why? “The value isn’t clear.” Now we’re getting somewhere.
After using the Five Whys, try verbal ideation and writing—such as jotting down words, notes, or associations—to clarify the problem and ensure you have a clear understanding.
Once you’ve reached the root issue, write a short goal statement that serves as a brief description of the problem and the project's purpose. For example: “Create a product page that helps users understand how our tool saves time, without overwhelming them, providing a clear solution to their needs.”
With a clear goal in place, start gathering context. This includes:
Also, collect references — visual styles, good examples, the work of other designers, and even things to avoid. Think of this as building your mental (and literal) mood board.
This is the exploration phase, also known as the ideation phase. You’re not judging ideas yet, you’re generating them.
Try a few of these:
Don’t aim for polished. You’re gathering potential solutions and puzzle pieces, not solving them yet.
This is the stage where truly original creative sparks can occur.
This is where a conceptualized design starts to take shape. Now that you’ve surfaced a bunch of raw ideas, start establishing 2–3 of them as the foundation for more defined directions. These can be:
Evaluate each concept:
You’re not selecting the winner yet, just testing what could work and how these directions are created from initial ideas.
Take the most promising idea and turn it into something concrete, even if it’s still rough. Visual ideation is a key part of this step, where abstract concepts are quickly transformed into sketches or visual representations.
Depending on the project, that might mean:
Arranging your sketches or thumbnails on the same page can help with quick comparison and iteration.
The goal isn’t to impress — it’s to communicate the idea clearly.
Share your prototype with real people: stakeholders, teammates, or (ideally) users. Ask what they see, what they feel, and what they'd change. Sometimes confusion is a bigger insight than approval.
Watch more than you talk — reactions often tell you what words won't.
Based on feedback, tweak the concept. Strengthen the parts that worked. Fix what didn’t. In some cases, you might combine two directions or circle back to ideation. After the main concept is validated, focus on refining and specifying the detail to ensure the design is fully developed.
You’re aiming for a concept that:
The goal is to achieve a final design that meets all requirements and brings your creative vision to life.
Once you understand the steps, the next challenge is choosing the right tools to help shape your ideas.
You don’t need to wait around for a stroke of creative genius. Conceptual design can be hacked, in a good way. And while tools like mind maps and sketching are practical, they also help clarify the concept design meaning in visual form.
Here are the ones you’ll actually use as a beginner.
Mind maps are like visual brainstorms. Start with your central concept in the middle of the page, then draw branches out to anything connected: emotions, features, metaphors, colors, moods, even smells if that’s your thing.
Best part? All you need is a pen and paper.
You don’t need to be an artist. You just need to make shapes that represent ideas.
Thumbnail sketches, small, quick drawings, are great for exploring layout ideas or logo directions. Think quantity over quality here. The more you sketch, the easier it is to spot what’s working. Sketching allows for multiple iterations, helping you quickly explore different ideas and refine your concepts.
These sketches can then be developed into visual design elements, transforming rough ideas into tangible representations that communicate both the aesthetic and functional aspects of your product.
Use sketching when words hit a wall. Even stick figures can tell a story. In later stages, aim for results that are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing.
Mood boards are curated collections of images, colors, fonts, and textures that visually express the vibe of your concept.
Let’s say your concept is “urban minimalism.” Your board might have grayscale cityscapes, clean sans-serif typography, a muted color palette, and lots of white space.
Tools like Canva, Pinterest, or Milanote are great for this, but even a folder full of screenshots works. A mood board helps your team or client feel the concept — no explaining required. It’s like the visual version of a website owner's manual.
Storyboards are step-by-step visualizations of how your concept plays out, like a comic strip.
If you're designing a campaign, you can use a storyboard to show how a user interacts with it, from the moment they see the first ad to the final call to action.
This is especially useful in UX or video-based projects where sequence and flow matter.
Sounds corporate, but it’s useful even in creative work.
Make a four-square grid:
This works well when you’re comparing several concepts or pitching one to a stakeholder who wants to know “why this one?”
These tools aren’t meant to live in silos. Try this combo:
This mix of creative and analytical thinking will take your concept from vague to rock solid.
Tools help you think creatively, but sometimes you need a framework to organize that thinking and make better decisions.
Conceptual design isn’t just vibes and sketchbooks. The early planning phase, called conceptual design, is where foundational ideas are established and product morphology is defined. There are actual frameworks that help you organize your thinking, and the outcomes of your project are often determined by the early choices you make during this stage. You don’t need to memorize them, but they’re useful when you want a structured approach, or when you need to explain your process to someone else without sounding like you made it all up on the spot.
Here are three go-to models that beginners can start using right away.
This one comes from the British Design Council, and it’s popular for a reason. It breaks the creative process into four steps inside two “diamonds”:
Each diamond has a divergent phase (go wide) and a convergent phase (narrow in). Conceptual design lives mostly in the “develop” part, where you brainstorm and shape ideas.
If you’re ever wondering, “Am I rushing this?” the Double Diamond gives you a way to check yourself. Have you truly defined the problem? Have you explored enough options? Or are you just latching onto the first half-decent idea?
Keep a sketch of this model somewhere visible. It’s a good reminder not to skip the thinking part.
This one’s more common in product and engineering circles, but it’s also helpful in marketing, branding, and UX.
Say you're designing a budgeting app. The function might be “help users manage personal finances.” The behavior is “gives spending insights, sets limits, offers suggestions.” The structure is “dashboard, notifications, category tags.”
This model forces you to think logically. Before you design what it looks like, make sure you know what it does and how it helps.
This one’s a bit more academic, but surprisingly useful if you're exploring unfamiliar territory.
C-K stands for:
The idea is to bounce between the two. You come up with a concept, use knowledge to test or evolve it, and keep cycling. That’s how weird, surprising, and genuinely innovative ideas come to life.
C-K theory reminds you to balance dreaming with learning. It says, “Yes, imagine wild stuff, but also, go read something.”
Honestly, try them all. The Double Diamond is great for mapping your process. FBS is helpful when your concept involves function. C-K theory is fantastic when you're pushing for something fresh.
You can even mix them. Use Double Diamond to guide your phases, FBS to validate your concept's structure, and C-K to keep your ideas grounded and evolving.
All three can help turn a vague idea into a strong, structured answer to what is concept design and how to bring it to life.
These models are helpful across the board, but let's look at how conceptual design actually shows up in different fields.
Conceptual design isn’t just for architects or creative agencies. Every design project begins with conceptual design, which lays the foundation for turning ideas into reality. Conceptual designers are the professionals who translate abstract ideas into visual drafts and blueprints, guiding the process from concept to completion. It shows up anywhere someone needs to turn an idea into something real, from ad campaigns to digital products.
Here’s how it plays out across different fields:
In marketing, the concept often is the campaign. It’s what makes an ad memorable instead of just functional.
Example: Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign was built on the idea that beauty includes everyone — a great conceptual design example of how a simple idea can shape visuals, tone, and emotion across touchpoints.
UX teams use conceptual design to define how a product should feel before drawing screens.
Example: Headspace, the meditation app, is based on the concept of “meditation made simple.” That idea influences every design choice, from color to copy, and is a strong case of effective design conceptualization.
Concepts guide both form and function.
Example: Dyson vacuum cleaners are built around “effortless performance through engineering.” This approach to product form and function embodies how powerful conceptual designs can shape not only aesthetics but usability too. Conceptual sketches in the early stages are just initial ideas through further development, evaluation, and manufacturing, these evolve into the finished product. The final product is the culmination of the entire conceptual design process, translating ideas into a tangible, production-ready outcome.
Architects use concepts to define the emotional and functional purpose of a space.
Example: The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, designed by Frank Gehry, is based on the concept of “movement and transformation.” The flowing titanium curves challenge traditional museum form and invite exploration.
Similarly, in industries such as product design and urban planning, conceptual frameworks guide the creation of innovative and functional solutions, drawing on core ideas to shape the final outcome.
A brand’s concept is its backbone — it informs logo, tone, and visuals.
Example: Patagonia’s branding centers on responsibility and environmental activism. Its rugged, no-nonsense style shows how even conceptual graphic design can align perfectly with a brand’s core values.
Of course, even with all these tools and examples, things can still go sideways — here’s what to watch out for.
Conceptual design seems simple — get a big idea, build around it. But in real life, a few common traps can derail your process. They slow things down, water down your message, or send your project off-course.
Here’s what to watch out for, and how to stay on track.
1. Skipping the concept entirely
It’s surprisingly easy to jump straight into design without agreeing on the core idea. You end up with something that looks good but says nothing.
Fix: Before you move a pixel, ask: What are we really trying to say? Write it down. If your concept doesn’t fit in one sentence, it’s probably not clear enough.
2. Falling in love with the first idea
Your first instinct might feel right, but it’s often the most obvious option.
Fix: Push past it. Sketch out five different directions. Don’t aim for perfection — just variety. Once you’ve explored the edges, you’ll be better at spotting what really works.
3. Getting too abstract
Words like “energy” or “innovation” sound important, but without context, they’re too vague to build on.
Fix: Make your concept concrete. Use metaphors, specific moods, or scenarios. If you can’t explain it clearly to a non-designer, you’re not ready to move forward.
4. Designing in a vacuum
Even great ideas fall flat if they don’t connect with real people.
Fix: Ground your concept in research — user behavior, stakeholder needs, or what’s already out there. The best concepts live where creativity meets relevance.
5. Ignoring feedback
If your concept only exists in your head, you’ll never know how it lands. What’s clever to you might confuse someone else.
Fix: Show your rough ideas early. Watch how people respond. Confusion, surprise, or even silence — it’s all useful input.
Avoiding those pitfalls gives your concept room to succeed; now you’re ready to bring it all together.
By now, you've got a solid grip on what conceptual design actually is — not a buzzword, not a vague theory, but a practical step that helps you build design work that's clear, intentional, and meaningful.
You've seen how it fits into the process, how to break it down step-by-step, which tools to use, what frameworks can guide you, and how it shows up across different industries. Most importantly, you've learned that conceptual design isn't just for “creatives.” It's for anyone who wants their work to actually connect.
Whether you're sketching out your first campaign idea or rethinking a whole product experience, the same rule applies: a strong concept makes everything easier.
And if you ever feel stuck — if you've got a loose idea but need help shaping it into something solid — TodayMade is here for that.
Whether you're exploring graphic design outsourcing, weighing the pros and cons of a freelance graphic designer, figuring out the cost to hire a graphic designer, or trying to make sense of website design cost, we've got resources to help you make the right call, and the right design.
