concepting

Concepting is a phase in design, product development, and advertising during which teams generate and evaluate high-level ideas in order to define the direction of a project. It converts a brief or problem statement into a small set of conceptual directions that express value propositions, user needs, and overall orientation—functional, aesthetic, or experiential. In practice, concepting combines divergent ideation with convergent judgment: many concepts are sketched, stories told, and scenarios mapped, then a few are selected for further development.

Typical activities include brainstorming sessions, storyboarding, user journeys, persona development, mood boards, and value proposition analyses. Outputs often include concept briefs, narrative scenarios, concept sketches or visual directions, and early prototypes or mockups used to test assumptions. The process is usually iterative and collaborative, involving designers, product managers, researchers, engineers, and marketing or brand specialists.

Concepting sits between discovery or briefing and prototyping or development. It aims to align stakeholders around a shared vision, test feasibility and desirability early, and reduce risk by providing clear direction before substantial investment. Common challenges include scope creep, premature narrowing, or bias toward familiar ideas; successful concepting manages constraints such as budget, timelines, and strategic fit.

Examples include a wearable health device concepting cycle that yields several directions (minimally viable product, premium device, and companion app-first experience), or an advertising concepting sprint that produces multiple campaign concepts with distinct messaging angles.