Towards Digital Integration: Conceptualizing in the Context of the Fashion Business

In 1963, Ivan Sutherland at MIT in his doctoral dissertation, “Sketchpad” introduced a program that has hence been broadly acknowledged as a major step towards drawing digitally. 43 years later the majority of industrial designers within diverse businesses to a high degree still lean upon the use of the original “paper and pencil” tools and procedures for conceptual sketching of product style. Through presentation of literature studies and by case studies in the fashion business (eyewear design), this paper puts forward why the penetration of digital tools and methodologies for conceptual styling so far has been low. This paper advocates for a paradigm shift. The claim is that implementing digital tools and methodologies is a necessity in order to heighten concept generation productivity - and the outcome. For businesses seeking incremental as well as radical innovation there is no alternative.