Prototyping Articles & Videos

  • Test Complex Interactions Earlier with AI Prototyping

    AI tools make it feasible to build fully interactive prototypes of complex interfaces so you can test them with users earlier in the design process.

  • Good from Afar, But Far from Good: AI Prototyping in Real Design Contexts

    AI prototyping tools follow general directions but lack the judgment and nuance of an experienced designer.

  • Leverage AI for Mock Tables and Charts When Testing Prototypes

    Creating realistic data for prototypes is a chore. Use these prompting tactics with generative AI to enhance content fidelity in usability testing.

  • Promptframes: Evolving the Wireframe for the Age of AI

    Promptframes enhance wireframes with prompt writing and generative AI, boosting content fidelity and speeding up user testing. No more lorem ipsum.

  • The Wizard of Oz Method in UX

    The Wizard of Oz is a user-research method where a user interacts with a mock interface controlled, to some degree, by a person.

  • Use Good Prototype Specifications to Empower Team Collaboration

    Three types of prototype specifications help explain how a design looks and is implemented. Clear prototype specifications empower team collaboration and lower communication costs.

  • Paper Prototyping: A Cutout Kit

    Easily (and cheaply) test early designs with this paper-prototyping kit.

  • Case Study: Iterative Design and Prototype Testing of the NN/g Homepage

    The NN/g homepage redesign relied on rapid iterative prototyping, and usability testing, to balance multiple design objectives.

  • UX Prototypes: Low Fidelity vs. High Fidelity

    No matter which prototyping tools you use, the same tips apply to preparing a user interface prototype for the most effective user research.

  • How UX Professionals Collaborate on Deliverables

    82% of UX professionals collaborate with other team members to produce deliverables. Ideation workshops and “four-eyes” reviews occur frequently, both in-person and remotely. In addition, the roles and contributions of collaborators vary widely.

  • Which UX Deliverables Are Most Commonly Created and Shared?

    Static wireframes are the most popular UX deliverable, but 11 different deliverable formats were used by at least half the professionals we surveyed.

  • Which Comes First? Layout or Content?

    Avoid awkward and difficult page layouts by fitting flexible templates to content whenever possible. Test often during design, and plan to scale up.

  • Test Paper Prototypes to Save Time and Money: The Mozilla Case Study

    Low-fidelity user testing of several iterations of Mozilla’s Support website quickly showed which user-interface elements worked best for Firefox users.

  • How Iterative Testing Decreased Support Calls By 70% on Mozilla's Support Website

    User research with data mining and paper prototyping quickly led to measurable success for one of the busiest support websites in the world.

  • UX Without User Research Is Not UX

    UX teams are responsible for creating desirable experiences for users. Yet many organizations fail to include users in the development process. Without customer input, organizations risk creating interfaces that fail.

  • Doing UX in an Agile World: Case Study Findings

    Agile teams are more proficient in executing the development process, but the compressed timescale forces some to abandon user research and degrade the resulting user experience.

  • Charrettes (Design Sketching): ½ Inspiration, ½ Buy-In

    Design charrettes inspire design sketches and ideas, include more people in the design process, explore and expose goals and objectives of colleagues in multiple functional roles, and drive off designer’s block.

  • Paper Prototyping: Getting User Data Before You Code

    With a paper prototype, you can user test early design ideas at an extremely low cost. Doing so lets you fix usability problems before you waste money implementing something that doesn't work.

  • Testing Whether Web Page Templates are Helpful

    By turning all text into gibberish, a usability test can focus on whether the *layout* of a Web template helps users navigate and use the page.

  • Usability Testing for the 1995 Sun Microsystems' Website

    Paper prototyping, card sorting, and traditional usability testing were all employed to guide the design of the 1995 Sun Microsystems' Web site.