If you’re building a product, then you most likely know the sheer importance of having a prototype. This is going to be one of the most important factors you’ll need to think about when you’re building up your product and your brand. It’s not going to be as simple as making a bunch of drawings; it’s going to have to go much further than this. So, when it comes to the impact and how you can maximise your prototype, here are 4 tips that help to get things just right.
By Team Savant
Image: Zhouxing Lu
Focus on the User Experience
This isn’t just for digital products, but physical products also need to be considered when it comes to user experience. The customer journey begins right when they hear about your brand and/or your product. So you have to make every second count. So, when it comes to your prototype, you’re going to have to instantly think about the user experience from the appearance, the feeling in their hands, setup, and using the product.
Prototypes allow users to interact with a near-final product before it’s developed, and they can highlight areas that are less than ideal for the customer. This feedback saves time and money and allows designers to iterate on a design before development begins. While there are different types and fidelity of prototypes, they all have one thing in common: They’re meant to mimic the final product. So, throughout the entire process, have the user experience in mind.
Communicate Your Vision
Communicating your vision is a key element of the prototyping process, plus this isn’t something that you should skip out on. It helps everyone on your team understand the direction of your product and keeps them on track. A clear vision can help you prioritise resources and deliver a successful prototype. It also ensures that you are not constantly making revisions to your design because it doesn’t align with your goal. You should consider establishing your prototype’s goals as soon as possible and passing them on to the toolmaking company you’ve chosen to ensure everything runs smoothly.
This way, you can determine how much time to spend on each step of the prototyping process. In terms of the prototype itself, make sure it represents the true look and feel of the final product. This will help users and investors better understand the concept behind the product. Overall, you need to communicate what it is that you want exactly.
Stay Flexible
While building the perfect prototype for your business can be a headache, you’re going to have to stay flexible. You can’t expect to be a perfectionist, so there needs to be some wiggle room. It allows you to test your idea before investing too much time and money into it, and it can also help you get feedback from potential customers.
You also have to keep in mind that it shouldn’t be just you taking this one; rather, a team should be helping you out. While the prototype process may be different from a typical design process, it still requires a strong commitment to a clear vision. This objective is as much a communication tool as it is a design one, and it helps the entire project team focus their work on delivering a final product that meets the vision.
Be Prepared to Scrap It
Prototypes are a critical tool for gathering feedback and insights on new ideas and products. But not all prototypes are created equal, and getting the most out of them requires some planning. Start by defining a clear objective for your prototype. Your objective should be data-driven and aligned with your business goals.
Once you have your priorities pinned down, be prepared to scrap the prototype if it doesn’t meet your objectives. This may mean re-designing it, re-factoring the design, or even scrapping it altogether. Typically, something like an industrial design agency can help you out with this, as scrapping prototypes could be far too expensive in the long run.