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Prototyping is nothing more than getting ideas and explorations out of your head and bringing them into the physical world.

A prototype can be anything that takes a physical form, be it a wall of sticky notes, a role-playing activity, a space, a room, an object, an interface or even a storyboard.

In early explorations, prototypes should be rough and fast so that we can learn quickly and investigate many different possibilities; we should never get attached to a prototype, as the word itself says so because of its Greek roots, "protos" for first, and "typos" for model.

Prototypes are most successful when people (the design team, the user and others) can experiment and interact with them. What is learned from those interactions can help deepen empathy as well as shape successful solutions.

Traditionally, prototyping is seen as a way to test functionality.

Prototyping is used for many reasons:

• Generate empathy: Prototyping is a tool to deepen understanding of the design space and its user, even at a stage prior to solving your project.
• Explore: Build to think. It is possible to develop multiple options of the same solution.
• Test: Prototype to test and refine solutions with users.
• Inspire: Inspire others (teammates, customers, investors) by showing your vision.

Many of the goals of prototyping are shared in the four categories above. We prototype to:

• Learn. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a prototype is worth a thousand pictures.
• Resolve disagreements. Prototyping is a powerful tool that eliminates ambiguity, aids ideation and reduces miscommunication.
• Start a conversation. A prototype can be a great way to have a different kind of conversation with users.
• Fail quickly and cheaply. Quick and dirty prototyping allows you to test a number of ideas without investing a lot of time and money up front.

Articles & Ideas

Using Color to Enhance Your Design‍

To support the user experience, colors need to be combined wisely so that they work together well, do not overwhelm, and communicate the same kind of information everywhere in the interface. Kelley Gordon‍

The Anatomy of a Survey Question‍

But how do you get started writing questions? Few professionals we know have taken a formal course in survey development and instead rely on their experiences or best practices. Jeff Sauro, PhD and Jim Lewis, PhD‍

The Design Industry Is Broken‍

So, I tried mapping it out. One station at a time. Izaac Crayton‍

Adaptation | Taking your UX career to the next level‍

I’m fortunate enough to be frequently asked to speak with designers who are at that stage in their career to grow from junior to senior roles. I vividly remember being at this stage of my own career when I was transitioning from being an individual contributor to becoming a manager. Skye Lee‍

Designing an interview process for product designers‍

The job title of “designer” has come a long way over the past few decades. What once referred to having a job in graphic design or fashion can now point to a varied and expansive career in digital design, UX and UI, content design, design research, and more. Faire Design Team‍

Introduction to design tokens‍

Whether you're a designer, a developer, a manager or a curious executive wanting to scale your organisation's branding with consistency: this post is for you. Louis Chenais‍

How to build better digital experiences with UX writing principles‍

When I joined Sainsbury’s last year, UX writing wasn’t really given that much attention. The words used in digital experiences were written by different people, from designers to engineers, at different times, in different ways, without any centralised guidance. Callum Kilby

Products

Softr‍

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Mooncamp‍

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University of Threads > Product Management‍

Learn product management from 250+ curated Twitter threads‍

QuestionPro Free‍

Get started today and design your perfect survey. Add multiple question types, logic, and personalized branding. Deploy in seconds and analyze your data in real-time. You can access over 88 features and customizable templates.‍

Maze Templates‍

Go from idea to action with Templates. Choose from our library of pre-built mazes to copy, customize, and share with your own users.‍

Venture Education Center‍

Making sense of venture capital. From how to be an Angel Investor to Deal Terms.‍

Health Icons‍

Free, open source health icons Free for use in your next commercial or personal project. Editing is ok. Republishing is ok. No need to give credit.

Remote Jobs

Elastic - UX Research Team Lead‍

Elastic is a search company that powers three solutions built on one powerful stack: the Elastic Stack. Deploy them anywhere (from the cloud to bare metal).‍

Tripscout - Product Designer‍

Tripscout is the center of the world for passionate travelers. We bring you the best articles and videos to satisfy your wanderlust and help you plan amazing trips.‍

Filestage - Product Designer‍

Filestage's online proofing software enables you to build and manage review processes the way you want to. Collect feedback in one place and ensure all files.