Prototypes are a versatile and powerful part of the design process. Some would say they are essential to successful design. But to veterans and novices alike, prototypes can be both nebulous and daunting. Have you perhaps heard of prototyping and know it’s somehow an important part of the design process but you’re not quite sure what it is? Or have you maybe been doing design for a while but have never really had the opportunity to get hands-on experience doing prototypes? Have you perhaps struggled with determining what parts of a design need to be prototyped? Will it be worth the effort? What tools should you use? Who on the team should do the prototyping? And how can you get the most out of your prototype once you’ve produced it? These are just some of the questions you’ll find answers to in the two-part course, Prototyping in Practice.

Prototypes in Detail

Prototypes come in all shapes and sizes, and to set the foundation for our discussion, we’ll look at a wide variety of prototypes, from sketches and paper-based models to clickable XHTML pages, to rich semi-functional applications.

Prototypes and the Design Process

Then, we’ll explore how prototyping fits into the overall design process. What parts of a design are most most cost-effective to prototype? How does the point you are at in your project affect your prototyping decisions?

Prototyping Tools

Next, we’ll look at prototyping tools. Our focus will be less on specific tools and more on what to consider when choosing a tool. When should you go with the simpler tool that let’s you get your prototype out fast and when do you use the advanced tool lets you test more complex functionality?

Hands-On Prototyping

We’ll conclude the course with a hands-on prototyping workshop, which we’ll intermingle with discussion of best practices for prototyping production as well as for evaluating and presenting prototypes.

The primary focus of this course will be on prototyping for web-based products, and is intended for anyone who is either new to web design or has been doing it for a few years and wants to add prototyping to their practice.

How it Benefits You

As websites involve more rich interaction, prototyping will become a vital career skill to create designs and prove faster and more accurate than drawing diagrams. For companies, prototyping will reduce risk and speed up the product development process by improving the design early in the process.