Predictive Modeling for 2D Form Design

In product design, designers often generate a large number of concepts in the form of sketches and drawings to develop and communicate their ideas. Concrete concepts typically evolve through a progressive refinement of initially coarse and ambiguous ideas. However, a lack of suitable means to visualize the emerging form at these early stages forces the designer to constantly maintain and negotiate an elusive mental image. To assist this process, we describe a predictive modeling technique that allows early, incomplete 2D sketches to be transformed into suggestive complete models. This helps designers take a sneak peek at the potential end result of a developing concept, without forcing them to commit to the suggestion. We demonstrate and discuss preliminary results of our technique on 2D shape design problems.