Prototyping for Designers: Developing the Best Digital and Physical Products

Prototyping and user testing is the best way to create successful products, but many designers skip this important step and use gut instinct instead. By explaining the goals and methodologies behind prototyping—and demonstrating how to prototype for both physical and digital products—this practical guide helps beginning and intermediate designers become more comfortable with creating and testing prototypes early and often in the process.

Author Kathryn McElroy explains various prototyping methods, from fast and dirty to high fidelity and refined, and reveals ways to test your prototypes with users. You’ll gain valuable insights for improving your product, whether it’s a smartphone app or a new electronic gadget.

• Learn similarities and differences between prototyping for physical and digital products
• Know what fidelity level is needed for different prototypes
• Get best practices for prototyping in a variety of mediums, and choose which prototyping software or components to use
• Learn electronics prototyping basics and resources for getting started
• Write basic pseudocode and translate it into usable code for Arduino
• Conduct user tests to gain insights from prototypes

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. What Is a Prototype?
Chapter 2. Why We Prototype
Chapter 3. Fidelity for Prototypes
Chapter 4. The Process of Prototyping
Chapter 5. Prototyping for Digital Products
Chapter 6. Prototyping for Physical Products
Chapter 7. Testing Prototypes with Users
Chapter 8. Pulling It All Together—SXSW Tasting Experience
Chapter 9. What Have We Learned
Appendix A. Resources and Links
Appendix B. Glossary