Abstract: The early phases of product development play a significant role for the success of a product and the prevention of time and money consuming changes in late phases. This paper describes a new methodological approach for the genereration of principle solutions in the form of sketches in early phases of product development. A guideline has been developed for a target-oriented and efficient progression from working principles to principle solutions. In particular, the linkage between physical effects and form parameters (geometry, materials etc.) has been investigated. A computer system including physical effects as features which can be used for the generation of digital principle sketches is described as a vision. Such a system offers the potential of facilitating routine work and supporting the engineer in defining solution concepts at early stages of product design.