How to represent my design

What you need to provide

2D representations of your design, such as drawings, illustrations, digital images or photographs, are a vital part of your application.

You'll need to make sure your representations:

• Present the design clearly
• Show the different aspects of the design
• Are consistent in colour, lighting and shading
• Match the product name in your application.

How to get it right

Unclear and inconsistent representations can cause issues with your application. Here are some tips to consider when capturing your representation.

1. Include clear representations for your design

You should include as many representations as you need to show all the features of your design. If there's more than one representation, each must be consistent with the other.

2. Use a consistent style

Use one consistent style to demonstrate how it looks, rather than using different styles. For example, use line drawings or photographs, not both.

3. Have a neutral background

Make sure the backgrounds of any photos are blank and neutral so it's clear what product you'd like to protect.

4. Use solid lines to highlight new and distinctive features

You can use:

• Solid lines to highlight new and distinctive elements of your design
• Dotted or dashed lines to show the visual features of the product it's applied to.

You'll need to show the entire product the design's applied to. You can provide an additional close-up view of the design features if you'd like.

Make sure you use the combination of each line consistently across your representations.

5. Only show the visual features of your design

You don't need to include details such as measurements, arrows or brand names in your representation.

6. Showcase what the product looks like in physical form

A logo by itself can't be protected with a design right, but a logo applied to a physical product can be. If a logo is applied to a product, such as packaging, show how the whole product looks in physical and tangible form.

7. Clearly label different views of the design

You can provide different views of the design to show all the features, but you'll need to clearly label each view.

For example, you can use views such as:

Environmental view

Shows the product in the environment it will be used in. Include at least one complete view of the product.

Assembled and exploded view

Demonstrates how the product looks assembled and 'exploded'. The exploded view shows the different components in a single product and how they fit together. You'll need to provide both an assembled and exploded view.

Configuration view

Demonstrates how the product can be configured into different positions.