Definitions

"Concept design is an early phase of the design process that explores far-ranging design ideas which are plausible but which often set aside immediate technical and situational constraints in order to generate new options. The results can be seen in the concept cars from Pininfarina, the futuristic structures rendered by Rem Koolhaas’s Office for Metropolitan Architecture, and the Christian Lacroix designs on the runways of Paris."
--"Concept Design Tools." Digital Web Magazine. By Victor Lombardi.

Also known as: "conceptual design"

Books