Design Nomenclature / Physical Model Making
Appearance model
Also called looks-like model, cosmetic model, hero model, dummy
A model built to be indistinguishable from the finished product in every visible respect and functional in none. Surfaces, seams, colour and weight are right; the inside is a block. It pairs with a works-like model, which is ugly and does everything — the split exists because one object rarely does both jobs well.
In practice
"Works-like, looks-like" names the pair, and "works-like and looks-like" names a schedule nobody has ever met. Building both separately is faster than building one that is both.
Not to be confused with
- MockupA stand-in built to answer one question — does it fit, does it read, is it the right size — with no obligation to work or to be made of the right material. Its value is entirely speed and disposability. A mockup that took a week to build stopped being a mockup somewhere around Tuesday.
- PrototypeStrictly, the first article made to test whether a design works. The word has been diluted until it means any model at all, including renders and slide decks. Insist on the qualifier: a functional prototype proves mechanism, an appearance prototype proves nothing about mechanism, and a production prototype proves the tooling.