This master thesis centers on the challenge designers face when needing to communicate a context based interactive concept to a stakeholder that has no prior knowledge of the concept. It is stated that there is a lag of language to communicate interactivity. The language becomes even more absent when the interactive concept is designed to function in relation to a specific context. The thesis aims to identify a tool that functions as a langue for this communication. The suggestion given is that animated sketches can capture time, purpose and context of a concept. Animated sketches therefore define the offset for researching how a language could be formed. Since animated sketches are already used in movie production as a previsualization tool, abbreviated previs, the thesis adopts the terminology and tries to learn from the practical use of animation.
It is investigated whether there is a difference in how well a concept is understood based on if the previs focuses on the functions of the concept or the concept is explain through a narrative. It is found, that the understanding through a narrative is slightly better than through a function focused previs. In addition there seem to be a more positive attitude towards the previs with the narrative focus.
To learn whether previs can be a useful tool in the design field, to experts are interviewed on the views on the two different approached to previs. Through the interview it becomes evident, that there is a potential for both previses based on how far the concept is in the design process when the designer wishes to communicate a concept. The narrative previs explains an idea and an experience and is sufficient for an early stage of the design process where as the function oriented previs requires more knowledge of concept meaning that it fits late in the design process. Furthermore the experts are concerned with the quality of the animation, if the communication is related to a sales situation.
When combining this knowledge the thesis ends up suggesting set of guidelines that helps the designer choose the appropriate previs for the given situation.