Sketching for Product Designers

with Kevin Henry

Glossary of Terms
2D curve: a curve restricted to a flat two-dimensional plane such as a circle.
3D curve: a curve that moves across two or more planes, such as the handrail on a spiral staircase.

A
arc: a part of the circumference of a circle or other curve.

B
birds-eye view: the view of an object from above (the eye of the flying bird) typically resulting in threepoint perspective.

C
canonical view: a standard or preferred way of viewing (or recalling) an object.
Cartesian coordinate system: a coordinate system that locates unique points on a set of planes using a
pair of numerical coordinates that correspond to the distance from the origin (0,0,0).
center line: the line (projected) that cuts through the center of a plane, surface, or form.
circle: a round plane figure whose boundary (the circumference) consists of points equidistant from a fixed
point (the center).
compound curve (3-D curve): a curve unbounded by a single flat (two-dimensional plane/surface)
moving freely across multiple planes in space; an example of a compound curve is the handrail of a spiral
staircase.
compound curved surface: a curving surface that moves simultaneously in two or more directions; an
example is the skin of an intertube (torus).
computer-aided design (CAD): a software for creating three-dimensional forms using standard geometry
to create a large range of surface types.
contour line: a line on a map joining points of equal height above or below sea level.
cone of vision: the visual region (cone) resulting from normal human perception without peripheral vision;
the area comprising the human visual field.
convergence: two or more lines coming together at a single point.
curve: a line or outline that gradually deviates from being straight for some or all of its length.
curved surface: a nonflat surface; there are two basic types of curved surfaces: a single curved surface
such as a regular cylinder and a compound curved surface such as an intertube (torus).
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cylinder: a solid geometric figure with straight parallel sides and a circular or oval section.
cube: a symmetrical three-dimensional form defined by three sets of parallel faces or planes joined
together to enclose space; a cube has six faces or planes, eight vertices, and twelve edges.

D
depth cue: cues that trick the human vision system into perceiving depth whether in a photograph or a
sketch; these include relative size of objects on the page or screen as well as the occurrence of converging
lines that move together toward single points on the horizon line.

E
edge: the outside limit of an object, area, or surface.
ellipse: a regular oval shape positioned symmetrically along a major and minor axis; an ellipse results
when a cone is cut by an oblique (angled) plane that does not intersect with the base.

F
foreshortening: portraying an object or scene as closer than it is or as having less depth or distance; an
effect of perspective.
front view: in orthographic projection, front view is one of six standard views (front, back, left side, right
side, top, and bottom).

G
ghost line: a very light and provisional line sketched lightly on paper or screen to help demarcate edges,
centerlines, surfaces, planes, and contours.
ground line: the line where the picture plane and ground plane intersect.
ground plane: the plane the viewer (station point) typically stands on when viewing an object in space;
the plane on which grounded objects lie.

H
horizon line: the line at which the earths surface and the sky appear to meet.
hatch line: one of the primary line types used in sketching as infill to suggest shade and shadow.

I
interior contour line: a light line that does not exist in reality but assists the viewer in seeing and
understanding the form of an object or figure; interior contour lines are those positioned inside the object,
form, or figure, such as those that define the nostrils in a figure drawing.
isometric projection: one of the primary projection methods used to represent three-dimensional
objects and spaces; in isometric projection, lines parallel remain parallel unlike the converging lines of
perspective.

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L
line: the shortest distance between two points and the physical mark that connects the points; lines have
length but no breadth.
line weight: the relative thickness and lightness or darkness of a line.
line of sight: the imaginary line connecting a viewers eyes to a particular object or space.

M
major axis: the longer axis of an ellipse that passes through the center point or foci and intersects the
minor axis.
minor axis: the shorter axis of an ellipse that passes through the center point or foci and intersects the
major axis.

O
orthographic: a method of projection in which objects or spaces are depicted or a topographic surface is
mapped using parallel lines to project its shape onto a flat plane.
orthogonal: of or involving right angles; at right angles.
origin: the point where something originates; most often used in sketching to refer to that point where
the three primary Cartesian planestop, front, and sideintersect.
outline: a line and/or curve used to enclose a flat shape or three-dimensional form; a silhouette is a filled
outline.

P
parallel: a condition between lines, planes/surfaces, and objects whereby they remain consistently the
same distance apart in space.
parting line: the physical edge (often a line) that demarcates where the two halves of a mold come
together to form a fully closed product, such as the two halves of a hand drill that house a motor
assembly.
perpendicular: at an angle of 90 to a given line, plane, or surfacedormers and gables that extend
perpendicular to the main roofline.
perspective: the process of drawing or sketching three-dimensional objects on a flat two-dimensional
surface, so as to give a realistic impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each
other when viewed from a particular point (station point).
picture plane: in perspective, the imaginary plane corresponding to the surface of a picture,
perpendicular to the viewers line of sight; the picture plane can be thought of as a glass window on which
could be sketched the outside world on the opposite side of the glass.
plane: a flat surface defined by a minimum of three or more joined or connected lines or curves on which
a straight line could lie.

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point: something having position but not spatial extent, magnitude, dimension, or direction; for example,
the intersection of two lines creates a pointalso referred to as a vertex (plural: vertices).
polygon: a plane figure (shape) with a minimum of three straight sides and angles, and typically five or
more; a triangle, square, or pentagon are examples of polygons.
polyhedra: a three-dimensional solid (form) that consists of a collection of polygons, usually joined at
their edges and enclosing space. The word derives from the Greek poly (many) and the Indo-European
hedron (seat).
projection: the process of sketching lines back to vanishing points to recreate the illusion of a threedimensional image on the flat sheet of paper; an actor is trained to project his or her voice into a room to
be heard in the back seats.
projection line: the lines used to create perspectival images on flat surfaces; projection lines tend to be
sketched lightly as part of the sketching process.
pyramid: a geometric polyhedron consisting of a base plane polygon of any number of sides, and the
other faces are triangles with a common vertexa three-sided pyramid.

R
rotated plan method: a projection system that relies on two orthographic views (plan and side elevation)
to create an accurate two-point perspective drawing.

S
section: the viewable geometry resulting from the process of visually cutting through a solid object; a
typical section cut is created along the latitude or longitude of a three-dimensional object or space, but a
section cut may be at any angle to the object or space.
shade: the relative darkness (or coolness) caused by shelter from direct sunlight; in sketching, shading
occurs on surfaces directly out of line with the sun or light source.
shadow: a dark area or shape projected onto the ground plane on which an object sits, or on the surface
of the object itself, produced by the intersection of the plane and the form (outlines) of the object and
generated by a light source; shadows are flattened and skewed shapes in perspectival space of the object
casting them.
side view: in orthographic projection, side view is one of six standard views (front, back, left side, right
side, top, and bottom).
station point: the single point from which an object is viewed; generally considered the viewers eyes from
which every vertex of an object converges on the retina of the viewer.
surface: the outer most skin of an three-dimensional object, whether the flat planes of a cube or the
curving surfaces of a cylinder or torus (intertube).

T
tangency: a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a specific point while never
intersecting with the curve or curved surface; tangent points are transitions between lines and curves that
appear seamless.
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top view: in orthographic projection, top view is one of six standard views (front, back, left side, right side,
top, and bottom).
trapezium: a quadrilateral (four-sided figure or shape) with no sides that are parallel.
transversal: a line that passes through two lines in the same plane at two distinct points.

V
vanishing point (1, 2, 3): the point (or points) on the picture plane to which all projection lines converge
on the horizon. One-point perspective occurs when the viewer or station point is positioned parallel to
one of the primary faces of the object or space; two-point perspective results when the station point is
positioned such to see at least two or more faces; and three-point perspective occurs when the station
point is positioned high above or below two visible faces of the object or space.
view point: the specific orientation resulting from the position of the station point (viewer) in relation to
the object or space.
vantage point: the particular angle from which an object or space is viewed; related to the point of view
or view point and station point.
vertex: a single point or the point of intersection between two or more lines or curves (plural of vertex is
vertices).
vignette: a frame sketched in such a way as to appear behind a sketched object or product; the vignette
works to provide a depth cue in a design sketch.

W
weight: the relative lightness or darkness of lines in a design sketch; outlines and vignette lines tend to
be among the darkest lines, whereas ghost lines are very light provisional lines sketched to assist the
designer in constructing form.
worms-eye view: the view of an object from the surface of the ground (the eye of the worm) typically
resulting in three-point perspective.

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