Design Illustration
Biomimicry Project – KoaTeam
Sustainable Design Principles
• Is this worth doing?
• What is the goal we are addressing with our
solution?
• Are you solving the problem or the symptom?
• Is it a win-win-win? Does it minimize the
creation of new problems?
Student Outcome
• The goal of this part of the biomimicry project
is to create an illustration of your system or
product that you designed.
• Your illustration will be done using a drawing
that is inked and scanned into photoshop.
• Using photoshop, you will color, add values
and text to your illustrations to complete your
design.
• You will write a one paragraph explanation of
your design, so that together with your
illustration anyone can understand what your
product or system does.
What is Design Illustration?
• We are visual people with a better understanding
of what we see rather than what we read or hear
about. If you have a brilliant invention idea, you
may need to convey its usefulness before the
prototype is developed.
• That means you’ll need some kind of imagery of
what it may look like and what it does.
• Product illustration is the visualization of your
idea, a conceptual representation. It is used to
show and tell before you have the actual product
to demonstrate.
Different Options
• Computer illustration is the most common and
can sometimes be quicker with a more realistic
look.
• Rendering by hand can be done with pencils,
paints, pen and ink or any art materials. The
choice really depends on the product, Before
anything, you’ll need to decide on your product’s
branding, or its personality, that you want to
convey to your audience. That will help
determine the illustration style.
Multiple Viewpoints
• Most likely you’ll need at least 2 views of the product
to show its dynamics. The basics are front, back, side,
top and bottom. There should also be an angled view
to show the product more 3 dimensionally, which could
also look up or down at the product. The views used
just need to make sense with the most important
details of the subject at the forefront.
• A few more variations to reveal more detail are the
cutaway view and the exploded view. If used, at least
one other basic view should also accompany it.
Multiple Viewpoints
Multiple Viewpoints
Cutaway or Ghosted View
• The cutaway or ghosted view takes away
external areas of the product or makes them
transparent in order to see the inner parts.
This allows someone to understand the
internal workings of the invention in relation
to its outward appearance.
• Look at the examples on the next slides.
Ghosted View with Details
What’s missing from this?
Exploded View
• The exploded view is literal in the sense that
the parts of an object have exploded in an
orderly manner. They are floating and
separated slightly to show their relationship
and how they fit together. This type of
drawing shouldn’t ever be the main image to
represent the product. It may do a good job
explaining how the product works or how it’s
constructed, but it doesn’t do an adequate job
showing what exactly the subject is.
Exploded View
Systems Illustration - ?s
• Systems thinking means you consider broader
issues—preferably at the very beginning of
design. These questions must be answered: Who
will use this product? How will it be used? What
is the relationship of one part to the whole?
Where does it start and end? These concepts
should subsequently be rendered visually,
through a drawing or model that a design team
can refer to as a representation of their overall
vision.
• Look at some examples.
Systems: Landfill Process
System: Turbine Power Plant
System: Osmotic Power
System: PA
System: What is it?
System: What is it?
What is missing?
Assessment
• You will be assessed on your illustration and
your one paragraph explanation.
• Your illustration will be assessed on: Design,
Detail, Color, and Shading.
• Your paragraph will be assessed on how well
you explain what your system or product
does, how it is sustainable, how it mimics
nature, and how it solves the problem.
• See Rubric.
Product Illustration
• If your group design is a product, you will need to do an
illustration that includes multiple views or ghost/cutaway view.
• You need labels.
System Illustration
• If your group design is a system illustration,
your drawings should be side/top view.
• You need to have labels.
Product & System
Timeline: Day 1
•
Rough sketch, decide, then draw a full size sketch of the product or
system. You should know what colors you will use. Write where the
labels will go and what it will say draw final illustration with details
and realism. Drawing should be with lines only. No words, arrows,
shading, or coloring in. Re-sketch neatly on a clean sheet of paper.
Don’t forget to leave space for the product name, words, arrows,
boxes, etc. Check the rubric!
Timeline: Day 2
• Ink your pencil sketch. Scan and color in Photoshop.
Follow the instructions that are on the biomimicry
website. Mr. Wills was using a different version of
Photoshop, so yours will look a little different, but
the tools are all still the same. Check rubric.
Timeline: Day 3
Add color, contrast, and value to the illustration.
Timeline: Day 4
Add arrows and text. Check final illustration with rubric
to ensure earning maximum points. Get feedback from
classmates and advisor. Make adjustments. Turn in.