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Design Prompts
Explore ideas, words and prompts to get excited about your concept and design...
Architectural Experience
Architectural structures and space are ultimately designed as a human experience, so it is important to be conscious of what we are creating. We sense or perceive the external world through:
• Physical - Sensations from the five physical senses(touch, taste, smell, sound, sight)
We experience the external world internally through a response to the external world in the form of the more intangible:
• Mental - Thoughts, memories and beliefs.
• Emotions - A collection of internal physical sensations that we give common names to.
When designing, we need to consider the internal experience we desire our user to have, and then consider the characteristics or qualities of the external environment that will create that.
Characteristics or qualities are words used to describe different aspects of a person or thing.
• Quality - A distinct or unique characteristic possessed by someone or something.
• Characteristic - A feature belonging to a place or thing and serving to identify and tell it apart as unique.
• Physical - Things perceived through the senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, sight) as opposed to the mind (thoughts, beliefs, memories, words) and emotions.
These words are just a prompt as you start to think about the experience of your user and then generate your concept and aspects of this concept. You could use thesaurus.com to refine and further develop your ideas.
Click on each tab below to drop down a list of prompts...
APPEARANCE
Ablaze
Bland
Blurry
Carve/ Carved
Clean
Clear
Cloudy
Contrast/ Contrasting
Crack/ Cracked
Crooked
Crushed
Dense
Dirty
Eerie
Gilded
Glassy
Gleaming
Glimmer/ Glimmering
Gloss/ Glossy
Glowing
Grotesque
Heavy
Hidden
Lacework
Light
Luminous
Minimal
Moody
Mould/ Moulded
Movement
Opaque
Reflective
Ruddy
Shadowy
Shiny
Sparkle/ Sparking
Striped
Strong
Transparent
Translucent
Warm/ Warmth
Watery
Wiry
COLOURS
Aqua
Black
Blue
Bright
Bronze
Brown
Colourful
Crimson
Dark
Drab
Dull
Gold
Green
Indigo
Lavender
Magenta
Multi-coloured
Orange
Pink
Red
Rosy
Scarlet
Silver
Turquoise
Violet
White
Yellow
PATTERNS + DECORATIONS
Criss-cross
Crossing
Delicate
Filigree
Frame/ Framed
Geometry/ Geometric
Grid
Irregular
Organic
Ornamental
Panel/ Panelled
Regular
Repeated/ Repetition
Twisted
Uneven
Wavy
Woven
DIMENSIONS + SIZE
Abundant
Big
Compact
Confine/ Confined
Giant
Great
High
Huge
Little
Long
Majestic
Over-sized
Petite
Short
Small
Tall
Teeny
Thin
Thick
Tiny
Vast
LOCATION + PROXIMITY
Asymmetrical
Adjacent
Above
Band/ Banded
Below
Close/ Closed
Enclosed/ Enclosure
Expose/ Exposed
Interlocking
Interlaced
Join/s
Joint/s
Laminated
Layer/ Layered
Loose
Open/ Opening/ Openness
Overlap
Overlay
Symmetrical
SHAPE + FORM
Blob/ Blobby
Broad
Circle/ Circular
Crooked
Curve/ Curved/ Curvy
Cylinder/ Cylindrical
Deep
Distorted
Flat
Fold/ Folded
Globular
Hexagon/ Hexagonal
Hollow
Low
Mass
Narrow
Oval
Planar
Pyramid
Rectangle/ Rectangular
Rotund
Round
Skinny
Solid
Sphere/ Spherical
Square
Steep
Straight
Tall
Triangular
Wide
QUANTITY
Angular
All
Ample
Considerable
Countless
Enough
Every
Few
Full
Hundreds
Large
Light
Limited
Many
Multiple
Myriad
Numerous
Several
Some
Sparse
TEXTURE + MATERIALS
Bendy/ Bendable
Bouncy
Bumpy
Cool
Cold
Crumpled
Crumbly/ Crumbling
Crystalline
Dry
Elastic/ Elasticity
Encrust/ Encrusted
Firm/ Firmness
Flexible
Furry
Fuzzy
Greasy
Hard
Icy
Metal/ Metallic
Permeable
Plastic/ Plasticity
Pliable
Prickly
Rough
Scrunched
Shaggy
Sharp
Sheer
Silky
Slick
Slippery
Smooth
Soft
Sponge/ Spongy
Stiff/ Stiffness
Supple
Squishy
Viscous/ Viscosity
Wet
SOUND
Loud
Muffled
Mute
Noisy
Purr/ Purring
Quiet
Raspy
Resonant
Screech/ Screeching
Shrill
Silent
Soft
Squeal/ Squealing
Squeak/ Squeaking
Thunder
Whisper/ Whispering
TIME + SPEED
Ancient
Annual
Biannual
Brief/ Briefly
Daily
Early
Eternal
Fast
First
Future
Futuristic
Historical
Irregular
Late
Long
Modern
Old
Quick
Rapid
Regular
Short
Slow
Speed/ Speedy
Swift
Wait
Young
SMELL
Airy
Acrid
Aromatic
Delicate
Delicious
Delightful
Dewy
Exotic
Exquisite
Faint
Familiar
Favourite
Floral
Fresh
Gentle
Heavenly
Heavy
Light
Lovely
Mild
Mild
Musky
Musty
Natural
Overpowering
Overwhelming
Peculiar
Pleasant
Pleasing
Powerful
Precious
Pungent
Pure
Putrid
Rancid
Refreshing
Rich
Scent
Sickening
Sweet
Soft
Spicy
Smoky
Smouldering
Stale
Strange
Strong
Subtle
Suffocating
Toxic
Unique
Warm
Wild
Wispy
Zesty
MOVEMENT
Dainty
Drama/ Dramatically
Fast
Fluid
Force/ Forceful
Gentle/ Gently
Graceful
Gradual/ Gradually
Quick/ Quickly
Rapid/ Rapidly
Sharp
Slight
Slow/ Slowly
Smooth/ Smoothly
Steady
Sudden/ Suddenly
Supple
HUMAN QUALITIES
Accessible
Active
Adaptable
Admirable
Adventurous
Agreeable
Alert
Allocentric
Amiable
Anticipative
Appreciative
Articulate
Aspiring
Athletic
Attractive
Authoritarian
Balanced
Benevolent
Bold
Brilliant
Calm
Capable
Captivating
Caring
Challenging
Charismatic
Charming
Cheerful
Clean
Clear-headed
Clever
Colorful
Companionly
Committed
Compassionate
Conciliatory
Confident
Conscientious
Considerate
Constant
Contemplative
Cooperative
Courageous
Courteous
Creative
Cultured
Curious
Daring
Debonair
Decent
Decisive
Dedicated
Deep
Dignied
Directed
Disciplined
Discreet
Disruptive
Dramatic
Dutiful
Dynamic
Earnest
Ebullient
Educated
Efficient
Elegant
Eloquent
Empathetic
Energetic
Enthusiastic
Esthetic
Exciting
Extraordinary
Extravert
Fair
Faithful
Farsighted
Felicific
Fighter
Firm
Flexible
Focused
Forceful
Forgiving
Forthright
Freethinking
Friendly
Fun-loving
Gallant
Generous
Gentle
Genuine
Good-natured
Gracious
Hardworking
Healthy
Hearty
Helpful
Heroic
High-minded
Honest
Honorable
Humble
Humorous
Idealistic
Imaginative
Impressive
Incisive
Incorruptible
Independent
Individualistic
Innovative
Inoffensive
Insightful
Insouciant
Intelligent
Intuitive
Introvert
Invulnerable
Joking
Just
Kind
Knowledge
Leaderly
Leisurely
Liberal
Logical
Lovable
Loyal
Loud
Lyrical
Magical
Magnanimous
Many-sided
Masculine (Manly)
Mature
Methodical
Meticulous
Moderate
Modest
Multi-leveled
Mysterious
Mystical
Neat
Nonauthoritarian
Objective
Observant
Open
Optimistic
Orderly
Organized
Original
Outrageous
Painstaking
Passionate
Patient
Patriotic
Peaceful
Perceptive
Perfectionist
Personable
Persuasive
Planful
Playful
Polished
Popular
Powerful
Practical
Precise
Principled
Profound
Protean
Protective
Providential
Prudent
Punctual
Purposeful
Radical
Rational
Realistic
Rebellious
Reflective
Regal
Relaxed
Reliable
Resourceful
Respectful
Responsible
Responsive
Reverential
Ridiculous
Romantic
Royal
Rule-breaker
Rustic
Sage
Sane
Scholarly
Scrupulous
Secure
Selfless
Self-critical
Self-defacing
Self-denying
Self-reliant
Self-sufficient
Sensitive
Sentimental
Seraphic
Serious
Sexy
Sharing
Shrewd
Shocking
Silly
Simple
Skillful
Sober
Sociable
Solid
Sophisticated
Spontaneous
Sporting
Stable
Steadfast
Steady
Stoic
Strong
Studious
Suave
Subtle
Sweet
Sympathetic
Systematic
Tasteful
Teacherly
Thorough
Tidy
Tolerant
Tractable
Trusting
Uncomplaining
Understanding
Undogmatic
Unfoolable
Unusual
Upright
Urbane
Venturesome
Visionary
Vivacious
Warm
Well-bred
Well-read
Well-rounded
Winning
Wise
Witty
Youthful
POSITIVE EMOTIONS
Amazed/ Amazing
Anticipation
Bliss/ Blissful
Calm
Comfortable
Content/ Contentment
Delighted/ Delightful
Eager
Ecstatic/ Ecstasy
Elated/ Elations
Energetic/ Energy
Empathy/ Empathetic
Excited/ Excitement
Happy/ Happiness
Hopeful/ Hope
Inspired/ Inspiring
Joy/ Joyful
Loving/ Love
Motivated
Peaceful/ Peace
Relieved/ Relief
Reverence/ Reverent
Satisfied/ Satisfaction
Surprise/ Surprised
Thrilled/ Thrilling
Trust/ Trusting
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
Anger
Concern/ Concerned
Chaotic
Discouraged
Fear/ Fearful
Frustrated
Grief
Sad/ Sadness
Worry/ Worried
Unhappy/ Unhappiness
Lonely/ Loneliness
Rage
Terror
