Prototyping in UX [Sketching]

THE UX BASICS

Prototyping in UX [Sketching]

The best prototype is the one that, in the simplest and most efficient way makes the possibilities of a design idea visible and measurable.

Have you ever wondered how we get hooked to certain websites and spend hours without realising? Or, how it becomes so easy to navigate between some websites while with others it’s simply annoying even to identify the provided action items. So what makes these websites or products stand out? The answer to all these questions is a better User Experience Design. So grab a cup of coffee and let’s know, how, when and where we can use UX to make our products stand out by focusing on the User as the primary source of inspiration.

The best prototype is the one that, in the simplest and most efficient way makes the possibilities of a design idea visible and measurable.

And this can be applied in the design process, by choosing the prototype that is most appropriate for the phase of design to answer the questions that are critical at that time.

Basically, US is how the end product gonna look like

Basic Types of Prototype:

There are a few different kinds of prototype making.

• Verbal description

• Sketch

• Video

• Navigation Flow

• Storyboards: User story

• Physical Model

• Card-based: Sequence of interaction or Actions

But we can actually categorize these prototypes in different types:

Here is the feature list:

• Lo-Fid prototype is quick, cheap and easy to use. It maximizes the possibility of refinement. Exp: Pen paper sketch

• Mid-Fid prototype is more organised and gives a narrative of the whole system in a cheap and affordable way. Exp: Wireframes

• Hi-Fid prototypes are more implementation focused and gives emphasis on interaction and functionality. Exp: Mocked Elements / Beta Prototype

4 steps to design the prototype:

1. **Reification: **Make the prototype real.

2. **Reflection: **Reflect if the prototype is gonna work.

3. Communication: Review the prototype

4. Assessment: Like assessing beta testers to understand if it’s gonna satisfy user needs

Features of Prototype:

A prototype can be either horizontal design or vertical design.

Horizontal (Design all in brief)

• All of the features are designed in brief and the designs might not be very accurate.

Vertical (Design few in-depth)

• A few features are designed in-depth and the designs need to be very specific

So the priority queue for designing any prototype will be:

We should always start with Lo-Fi prototype design. Otherwise, it will be a waste of money and effort. It will simply exhaust resources, cognitive and emotional commitments.

Pen Paper (Lo-Fid)

“Sketching in the broad sense is an activity not just a byproduct of design. It is central to design thinking and learning. Sketches are a byproduct of sketching. They are part of what both enables and results from the sketching process but there’s more to the activity of sketching than making sketches.” *— Bill Buxton*

Why do the pen-paper sketch??

Why should we sketch and do not go into prototype development? Simple isn’t it?

• Cheap

• Quick

• Timely

• Inexpensive

• Disposable: can dispose when of no use

• Plentiful: can make as much as we want

• Minimal detail

• Allows ambiguity

How does it help us?

• Help reflect the idea better

• Helps explore more designs

• Helps communicate with others about the idea

How to design??

Very simple, pen and paper (Do not use Softwares. It will just intimidate you with all the detailing). And most importantly, you don’t have to be good at drawing.

Sketches Generate Possibilities and Prototype converge the possibility to fix a design

Build, don’t stop. If intimidating? Brainstorm in the team.

The layout matrix thinking might help with speeding up ideation

Ideation techniques: If you can’t think a good idea, think bad ones (Take inspiration from bad products)

Designing Improvement:

The designs will even be better if we keep a few more things in mind. Like:

• Improving the prototype for individuals or a group

• Keeping in mind the cultural and social value

Designing Alternatives:

It is very important to keep alternative designs in mind to make the prototype more advanced. Often it’s difficult to bring more new ideas into the canvas so keeping a few points into consideration while designing will help create more and more ideas. For example:

• The explicit need of user (as they say)

• The implicit need of the user

• What system should do: Functional Requirements

• Constraints on the system and its development: Non Functional Requirements

Other prototyping

• Wizard of OZ: Human pretending to be computer

• Proof of Concept: Producing video featuring the features and applications

• Metaphor Technique: Build a mental model- linking the design with something already existing

Tools for prototyping:

• Invision

• Figma

• Marvel

So that’s it for this article. I hope you all liked it and if you liked it then do not forget to tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.

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