Week 8 Notes

This week’s topics:

1. Prototyping
2. Testing

What is a prototype?

A prototype can have many definitions, such as a first draft, an experiment, or a mockup. In class, students discussed what a prototype is to them. One of Ariam’s definitions of a prototype is a “blueprint or model for what you want to build where you can move from brainstorming to something more concrete.”

There are numerous forms a prototype can take. For example, you can make a “looks like” prototype to test how a product may look and feel. You could also make a “works like” prototype and determine the mechanical functionality of a design.

In a short lecturette, Ariam included a couple of recommendations in prototyping approaches:

1. Look outward for inspiration to reimagine and remix
2. Visualize your ideas and sketch out what is in your mind. Drawing helps you define what you mean at each step.
3. Start with low resolution prototypes and work with cheap materials that you already have access to.
4. Stay focused and ask yourself “is it helping me better understand my ideas” along the way
5. Invite others in and bring in as many perspectives as possible

Prototyping Methods

Some prototyping methods covered in class included:

1. Storyboards
2. Act it out as a team, then swap your storyboard with another team
3. Role playing

Students were also encouraged to do “parallel prototyping” where a couple of prototypes are made for review before the next iteration, as opposed to “serial prototyping” where one prototype is made at a time for review. One of the readings, “Parallel Prototyping Leads to Better Design Results, More Divergence, and Increased Self-Efficacy” by Steven Dow, emphasize how parallel prototyping can promote more divergent designs, exploration, comparison, better quality results, and increased self-efficacy.

From Witthoft’s This is A Prototype

<aside> 💡 “The study found that a parallel prototyping approach yields better results, more divergent ideas, and that parallel prototypers react more positively to a critique”

</aside>

During Design Project time, students started to storyboard and design the details of the prototypes they planned on building in the next week. Students were given this Digital Prototyping Cart to utilize in their design projects.