Design prototyping: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Creation and testing of prototypes}}

<!-- EDIT BELOW THIS LINE -->'''Design prototyping''' in its broader definition comprises the actions to make, test and analyse a [[prototype]], a [[Physical model|model]] or a [[mockup]] according to one or various purposes in different stages <ref name="Blom_Holm">{{Cite journal|last1=Blomkvist|first1=Johan|last2=Holmlid|first2=Stefan|date=2011|title=Existing prototyping perspectives: Considerations for service design|journal=Nordes 4}}</ref> of the [[design|design process]].<ref name="Floyd">{{Cite book|last=Floyd|first=Christiane|title=A systematic look at prototyping|work=In Approaches to prototyping|publisher=Springer|year=1984|___location=Berlin, Heidelberg|pages=1–18}}</ref><ref name="Stickdorn">{{Cite book|last1=Stickdorn|first1=Marc|url=|title=This is service design doing : applying service design thinking in the real world : a practitioner's handbook|last2=Hormess|first2=Markus Edgar|last3=Lawrence|first3=Adam|last4=Schneider|first4=Jakob|publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc.|others=Markus Hormess, Adam Lawrence, Jakob Schneider|year=2018|isbn=978-1-4919-2718-2|edition=1st|___location=Sebastopol, CA|oclc=922913141}}</ref> Other definitions consider ''prototyping'' as the methods or techniques for making a prototype (e.g., [[Rapid prototyping|rapid prototyping techniques]]),<ref name=":0" /> or a stage in the design process (prototype development, prototype or prototyping).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Archer|first=L. Bruce|title=The structure of the design process|work=Design methods in architecture|publisher=Lund Humphries, Bradford and London|year=1969|pages=76–102}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hasso Plattner Institute of Design|url=https://web.stanford.edu/~mshanks/MichaelShanks/files/509554.pdf|title=An introduction to design thinking: process guide|year=2010}}</ref><ref name="Stickdorn" /><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Friis Dam|first1=Rikke|last2=Yu Siang|first2=Teo|year=2019|title=Stage 4 in the Design Thinking Process: Prototype|url=https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/stage-4-in-the-design-thinking-process-prototype|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Interaction Design Foundation}}</ref> The concept of ''prototyping'' in design disciplines' literature is also related to the concepts of ''experimentation'' (i.e., an iterative problem-solving process of trying, failing and improving),<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Thomke|first=Stefan H.|date=1998|title=Managing Experimentation in the Design of New Products|url=http://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.44.6.743|journal=Management Science|language=en|volume=44|issue=6|pages=743–762|doi=10.1287/mnsc.44.6.743|issn=0025-1909|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and ''Research through Design (RtD)'' (i.e., designers make a prototype with the purpose of conducting research and generating knowledge while trying it, rather than aiming to improving it to become a final product).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Frayling|first=Christopher|title=Research in art and design|publisher=Royal College of Art|year=1993|volume=1|___location=London|pages=1–5|issue=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Stappers|first1=Pieter Jan|url=https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-encyclopedia-of-human-computer-interaction-2nd-ed/research-through-design|title=Research through design|last2=Giaccardi|first2=Elisa|work=The encyclopedia of human-computer interaction|publisher=The Interaction Design Foundation|year=2017|pages=1–94}}</ref>

== Background ==

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Prototypes can represent one component of a future solution such as "(Inter)actions, service processes, experiences, physical objects, environments, spaces, architecture, digital artifacts and software, ecosystems, [or] (business) value" <ref name="Stickdorn" /> or comprise various of these components.<ref name="Blom_Holm" />

Moreover, a prototype can reflect one or multiple dimensions of the future solution and a variety of aspects could be considered. A simple approach would be to think on the ''[[fidelity]],'' meaning how close the prototype resembles to the final solution (blom)(stick). More comprehensive approaches can be considered through multiple dimensions. For instance, Houde and Hill describe the “role” (i.e., functionality for the user), “look and feel” (i.e., sensory, and experiential aspects), “implementation” (i.e., performance of the solution).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Houde|first1=Stephanie|last2=Hill|first2=Charles|date=1997|title=What do prototypes prototype?|url=http://www.itu.dk/people/malmborg/Interaktionsdesign/Kompendie/Houde-Hill-1997.pdf|journal=Handbook of Human-computer Interaction|publication-place=North-Holland|pages=367–381|doi=10.1016/B978-044481862-1.50082-0|isbn=9780444818621|s2cid=18520479 }}</ref> Lim, Stolterman and Tenenberg propose a classification of prototypes according to “filtering dimensions: functionality, interactivity, and spatial structure"; and “manifestation dimensions:materials, resolution, and scope".<ref name="Lim" /> They suggest these dimensions can be pondered in order to decide how the prototype should be.<ref>{{cite web |last=Harley |first=Nicola |title=Prototype manufacturing |publisher=The fastpreci |___location=United States |url=https://www.fastpreci.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250613011735/https://www.fastpreci.com/ |archive-date=13 June 2025 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |date=10 May 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text="The best prototype is one that, in the simplest and the most efficient way, makes the possibilities and limitations of a design idea visible and measurable”|author=Lim, Stolterman and Tenenberg, 2008 <ref name="Lim" />}}