Chapter 3: The Characteristics of Urban Design Images

Selecting the most appropriate type of image is not always straightforward. There are many different types and styles of urban design image, which can be confusing.

It is helpful to think of every urban design image as made up from a mix of basic characteristics, features or qualities.

You can determine what type of image you are looking at by identifying the mix of characteristics from the diagram below.

These basic characteristics should be considered simultaneously and applied to both hand-drawn and computer-aided images.

Three examples of urban design image and their characteristics.

Graphics for urban design projects are usually based on one of four graphic techniques: