The Ultimate Guide to Prototyping

The Ultimate Guide to Prototyping

Learn The Methods, Tools, And Processes For Low And High Fidelity Rapid Prototyping

Discover the best prototyping methods, tools, and processes in this free ebook. Click now for instance access. 

“That’s a great idea. Let’s do it,” can be the source of wasted time and resources without prototyping. An idea that looks great in a wireframe or presentation may utterly fail when it matters — adding to the user experience. 

Prototypes bring to life the “experience” behind the “user experience.” Everything may look great in a static blueprint, but a prototype will expose usability flaws lurking under the surface. Prototypes can increase estimate accuracy by 50% while reducing requests for clarification by 80%. Streamlining these processes helps you come in before schedule and on or under budget.

The free ebook will teach you the methods, tools, and processes for low and high fidelity rapid  UX prototyping. You’ll learn the best practices companies like Zurb, Buffer, Google, and Apple use to make their websites masterclasses of the user experience. 

Whatever prototyping method you need to use, you’ll learn how to use it in this ebook, and why. Reasons like:

  • Selling your idea
  • Setting design priorities
  • Gauge feasibility while reducing waste
  • Testing usability earlier in the design process
  • And more

Expert Strategies, Tips, and Examples to Use Prototyping to Make Your Next Design Project Flawless

Great tips and ideas you’ll find in this free ebook include:

  • Prototype only what you need – then stop.
  • There is no single “best” way to prototype. The three most common methods include presentation software, coded prototypes, and specialized prototyping apps. Each approach has pros and cons.
  • The first step to deliver a perfect product to your target audience is to know your target audience. 

Here’s what’s in The Ultimate Guide to Prototyping:

  • Chapter 1 – A Practical Look at Prototypes. Why you should go beyond wireframes and mockups. 
  • Chapter 2 – Choosing the Right Prototyping Process & Fidelity. Prototype models are where design and develop diverge and converge.
  • Chapter 3 – Traditional Prototyping Methods and Tools. Paper prototypes and Wizard of Oz prototypes trade fidelity for speed, making them useful (sometimes) in the early stages of design.
  • Chapter 4 – Digital Prototyping Methods and Tools. The different ways to build a ready-to-use digital prototype.
  • Chapter 5 – Creating Prototypes for Usability Testing. How to develop and test prototypes for optimum usability.
  • Chapter 6 – 10 Prototyping Best Practices. Practical tips that work for any prototype.
  • Chapter 7 – Wireframing & Prototyping: The Past, Present, and Future. A brief history lesson of prototyping to help you plan for the future. 
  • Chapter 8 – Creating Interactive Prototypes from Photoshop Files. Step-by-step instructions to create a prototype from Photoshop while preserving all of your layers.
  • Chapter 9 – How to Create Interactive Prototypes from Sketch Files. A comprehensive tutorial to turn your static design into an interactive one.

More Resources to Learn About Prototyping Best Practices

Uxpin has additional, free resources for you to learn more about this topic. Here’s a short list to get you started:

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  • Jerry Cao

    Jerry Cao

    Jerry Cao is a UX Content Strategist at UXPin. In his spare time he enjoys playing electric guitar, watching foreign horror films, and expanding his knowledge of random facts. Follow him on Twitter.

  • Kamil Zieba

    Kamil Zieba

    Co-founder and head of product at UXPin, Kamil previously worked as a UX/UI Designer at Grupa Nokaut. He studied software engineering in university, but design and psychology have always been his greatest passions. Follow me on Twitter @ziebak.

  • Matt Ellis

    Matt Ellis

    With a passion for writing and an interest in everything anything related to design or technology, Matt Ellis found freelance writing best suited his skills and allowed him to be paid for his curiosity. Having worked with various design and tech companies in the past, he feels quite at home at UXPin as the go-to writer, researcher, and editor. When he’s not writing, Matt loves to travel, another byproduct of curiosity.