Why Designers Should Never Skip Prototyping : What is the point of designing if it just gets ignored? You are not only creating images. If you design without a prototype, you lose the agency to explore your design.
You can’t see what happens when people interact with it, how they interpret it, or what decisions they make in response to your designs — all crucial parts of understanding the success of your design idea. This article will discuss why you, as a designer, should never skip prototyping.
Table of Contents
What is a prototype?
A prototype represents a design concept or idea used to test the user interface and the look and feel of an application.
Reasons Why Designers Should Never Skip Prototyping
Adjustments for Your Users
Designers use prototypes to help users interact with their designs without worrying about the programming side of the app or website. It allows them to focus on their target users and prepares for them the best interface if they continue working on that design.
It is also a great way to adjust the setting for users with different kinds of features. For example, if you’re making a mobile app to help people with their budgeting.
You will want to help them keep their budget, and they’ll likely use your app on the go, say on an airplane or in a taxi cab.
Test Early and Often
Prototypes test the overall functionality of a user interface (UI) very early on in the design process. However, there is no need to test every minute detail as you will want to see if what you imagined comes out.
Prototypes are also easy to use because they require minimal coding and can be tested with real data for better understanding.
They are Safe
Prototypes are safe as they are less risky than a website or app still under development. This is a critical consideration when you are not quite sure if the project will move forward — even if many people are working on it.
It ensures that designs do not get dumped without being tested first.
Time-Saving
Prototypes save you time because they require less coding and less design skill. The more prototypes you create, the more efficient your design process will be.
This saves you money as you won’t have to hire extra designers — and their salary has already been paid. That’s the main reason Why Designers Should Never Skip Prototyping.
Helps You Gain Consensus
By getting everyone involved in a project to understand your idea, you are more likely to convince them to move forward if the plan is well thought out.
Prototypes also help you understand what your users think of your design and how to improve it. This way, you can establish a sense of direction for the whole team.
Offer a Variety of Tools
There are a number of tools out there that can help with prototyping such as Adobe XD. These tools can be used simultaneously, as each is compatible with the rest, and all have different strengths and weaknesses.
For example, Axure has a wide selection of building blocks that you can use to create prototypes quickly, while HTML5 Canvas has more elements to create interactive prototypes.
Conclusion
Prototypes are a beneficial addition to design tools. They are a great way to test the usability of a design and understand whether it will solve users’ problems. There is no better way to get user input than by allowing them to try your prototype.