Prototyping

This blog will discuss the following questions:

• How can prototyping help to get your idea across the line?

• At what stages of the design process can prototyping help?

I think the two questions I have chosen are connected. First, the prototype is the functional version of the product, which can test the product's performance through review, testing and feedback in actual scenarios (How prototypes help you make your good ideas 'better', 2019). I think we can also say that this is a test model of the final product.

So the purpose of the prototype is to help reduce the development time because once you get to the final stage, changing the design will block the entire development process or even start over (Dam and Siang, 2020). It leads to a waste of money and time.

In my chess piece project for Kings and Queens, I drew many design inspirations, but I only made one prototype. There is no comparison and no testing between all my inspirations. So I can't see its effect until I make the final design. As a result, I have to change a lot when I finished it. It took me a lot of time.

In another design project of mine (Laser Cutting Apple Pencil Case), I did prototype tests on all the four inspirations I drew and selected the most suitable one as the final design through comparison. As a result, my final design was very consistent with my needs, and I didn't make any modifications in the end.

These two projects made me deeply aware of the importance of prototypes in the design process. It can be a good test if my idea is feasible, including appearance, size, colour, material, etc (Dam and Siang, 2020). It is also convenient for me to observe and make modifications.

For me, prototypes are very useful after the completion of possible designs. They help me pick out the most suitable one for my final design, and I can modify it before the final design. Make sure my final design is satisfactory.

References:

Dam, R. and Siang, T., 2020. Stage 4 in the Design Thinking Process: Prototype. [online] The Interaction Design Foundation. Available at: <https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/stage-4-in-the-design-thinking-process-prototype#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20best%20ways,problems%20with%20the%20current%20design.>.

Information Age. 2019. How prototypes help you make your good ideas 'better'. [online] Available at: <https://www.information-age.com/prototypes-ideas-123482637/#:~:text=Prototype%20helps%20you%20iterate%20quickly%20on%20design%3A&text=Or%20you%20can%20say%20that,the%20entire%20part%20can%20work.>.