Prototyping
Today, I will be talking about prototypes and why they can be really useful in the UI/UX design
Process. Essentially, prototypes enable you to create what seems to be the real live app or website even before you do one single line of code. Prototypes are going to
help you and your team or even your clients and stakeholder to be on the same page even before you actually deploy and develop the final website or app because they’re going to enable you to see the product almost as if it was live compared to actually just looking at a few screens which are static. One of the major benefits of prototypes is that they enable you to create interactions between one screen and the other so you can create those real-life interactions and that really bring your ideas come to life.
There are two main prototypes which you want to consider: the first one is the low fidelity prototype and the second one is the high fidelity one. Low fidelity ones are going to be rougher prototypes and this can come in all sorts of forms even in paper which is one of the most common form. A paper prototype can even be just a sketch of a screen or a series of screens and then you would literally say hey when you click on one screen you will be redirected to this other physical screen so this is going to enable you to actually have both the visual and also the tactile feeling to it but it’s not quite like the live app yet. However, if you opt for the high fidelity prototype then what you need to do is to use a software like Sketch or Figma where you already have prototyping features built in. Essentially what you want to do is to create connections between one screen and the other and you can even add animations so you can simulate things such as the swipe gestures or dissolve animations. These animations are going to really enable the user to feel like what they’re experiencing is the live app. If you just have a bunch of jpeg screens or you don’t want to necessarily create the prototypes in a design software like Sketch or Figma then you can use tools such as Invision in order to create prototypes in a very easy and fast way.
When it comes to the decision as to whether make a prototype or not, I think it really depends on a case-by-case scenario. Sometimes a client is going to actively request you to create a prototype and other times you might want to suggest to create the prototype if maybe there is a lot of confusion going on as to whether the design solution which you proposed can work or not. Most times creating a prototype is going to add that extra layer of certainty and really validate your thesis. You can also use these prototypes if you want to want to present an idea for an investment pitch or to essentially communicate a new idea to a stakeholder or maybe a team of managers. In my career so far, i use prototypes quite a bit and they have worked quite well for me because it helps everyone to visualize the product. But it’s important to remember that a prototype is not the final product and there might be some differences compared to what the prototypes is actually going to look like compared to the final product. In conclusion, prototypes are a great asset to have in your UI/UX toolbox and you should definitely consider it.
Umair Jeelani
UX/UI Designer
