A building can be quickly sketched (above: Renzo Piano sketch) and then later generated as a scaled 3 dimensional model using CAD software. A product design concept can be illustrated in a similar way, perhaps in a little more detail at the initial stages of a project in comparison to an architects way of working. So you see the connection between these two very different design disciplines in terms of the way they can visually communicate.
A web site can also be quickly sketched, as the above image shows.
But what about interaction design?
As an undergraduate product designer tackling Interaction Design, I suppose in a way I was (and still am) a futurist: I proved a problem existed through extensive user research; I communicated a solution to this problem; and finally brought the solution to reality and demonstrated how it would fit in to this changing world.
With Fable, I found it difficult to prototype my ideas quickly and efficiently. In fact, apart from a few sketchy concept videos, my only real prototype came in the form of the final prototype itself.
Which leads me to ask, is visual communication that important in Interaction Design as it is in other disciplines, such as Architecture or Product Design? What else do employers look for?
When I was in London exhibiting Fable at New Designers exhibition, most of the people who I spoke to were more interested in my process rather than the final artifact. It was almost as though Fable was a prop in the "about me" performance.
Thinking back to ND and my Degree Show, communicating the essence of Fable was a story in itself. This is what I found in my research; this is how I interpret the research; Fable is the solution to the problem; and this is how Fable works.
No marker renders, no fancy photoshop graphics and no posters explaining the concept.
Fable has a story behind it, and as a designer, I told the story.
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