Week 8 Reading Response

What do prototypes Prototype?

Summary: This article presents the idea that the terminology “prototype” is too broad a term and that it can refer to different aspects of a design so when we talk about prototypes we should shift to talking about questions of the aspect we are exploring of the design.

Takeaway: The takeaway I got from this reading was that all prototypes can be put on different parts of the triangle of if it is testing; implementation, look and feel or role.

Real World Example: When I am pitching a project that involves an art installation or a creation that is more abstract to get my idea across I break down my project into different artifacts like mood boards (the aesthetic I am going for), a quick few lines of code (showing the basic functionality) and then a sketch to show overall what I am envisioning. This is really similar to the three different corners of the triangle and I think they are important to allow others to visualize what you want to create before it is created.

Questions:

Do you need to prototype all different aspects of the design or are there certain ones that are more important than others?