Creating prototypes

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From the course by The University of Sydney

Innovation Through Design: Think, Make, Break, Repeat

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The University of Sydney

Innovation Through Design: Think, Make, Break, Repeat

38 ratings

The evolution of design has seen it become a discipline no longer limited to the concerns of a singular, specific domain and develop to become a pathway for solving complex, nonlinear problems. Design is becoming a capability-enhancing skill, equipping people with the ability to deal with uncertainty, complexity and failure. In this course, we demonstrate how you can use design as a way of thinking to provide strategic and innovative advantage within your profession. Suitable for anyone who is curious about design and translating the processes and tools of design thinking into innovative opportunities, over 5 weeks we explore, apply and practice the design process: think, make, break and repeat. Through introducing theoretical concepts and examining industry case studies with leading Australian design firms, we investigate design as learning about the context (the thinking part), building prototypes as tangible representations (the making part) and testing potential solutions (the breaking part). We build on this by showing the productive value of moving through the process quickly and often (the repeating part), to improve ideas and develop new insights. Throughout the course, you will follow us through three of Australia’s most exciting design offices and learn from practicing designers and leaders in design. This insight into industry will enable you to develop a comprehensive understanding of design and the role it can and does play within the innovation landscape. You will leave this course with a set of practical tools and techniques to apply to situations within your own professional context, to translate problems into opportunities and solutions, and ultimately to innovate through design.

From the lesson

Design making

In this module, we look at the design making part of the process. In design making, user or customer data is turned into concepts, prototypes and minimum viable products, which can be used to gain initial feedback about ideas. Industry experts discuss the importance of ideation and prototyping in the design industry.

Introduction to design making1:41

Design making: concepts and prototyping5:42

Creating prototypes5:07

Idea generation and prototyping in design projects10:41

Meet the Instructors

Martin Tomitsch
Associate Professor and Head of Design
School of Architecture, Design and Planning
Cara Wrigley
Associate Professor
Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning

In this video, we will explore in more detail what prototypes are.

We'll look at how they can help us understand the user's experience,

and from there refine our design ideas.

Prototypes are one of the many ways to communicate your design.

They're a physical model or simulation of a final design.

Unlike sketching and wireframing,

a prototype is not about conceptualizing your design,

it's about experiencing it.

Prototyping typically comes after you've spent some time conceptualizing your design.

Using methods like personas, sketches or wireframes.

Prototyping is a low-cost high reward activity that can

provide insight into how your design will be experienced by its users.

It reduces miscommunication between teams and helps you catch mistakes early.

In this way, prototyping is still part of the larger process of iterative design.

By building prototypes and learning from them or breaking them and then rebuilding them,

you refine, focus and evolve your final design idea.

There are a few things to consider when approaching building

a prototype. Who is your audience?

This question will help determine the fidelity of the prototype.

Initially, your audience might just be yourself or your team,

in which case you can start simple, paper,

Lego or HTML might be all you need to effectively experience your design idea.

But your end goal might be users, the public,

a client or an investor in each of

these cases you have to plan the fidelity of the prototype accordingly.

Digital fabrication methods are an excellent way to

build low fidelity physical prototypes.

This includes methods such as 3D printing and laser cutting.

These methods are relatively cheap and accessible,

and they provide you with an object that might look and feel similar to the final design.

Physical computing devices are

small computers which allow you to prototype digital functionality.

These devices are programmable with simple code that allows you to create

working, physical prototypes and even create devices that interact with smart phones,

websites and the environment.

This includes popular rapid prototyping platforms such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi.

In planning for your prototype,

you'll need to identify what materials or technologies will be needed to create it.

This might sound easier than it is.

Depending on your design,

there might be more than one way to go about building

it and lots of unknowns along the way.

Each design idea is unique and might require a different level of planning.

Todd Warfel, a UX designer suggests

planning up to 70 percent of your design is a good place to start.

This allows for you to discover new things and follow

your ideas you might find in the process of prototyping.

And as you get feedback along the way,

you can make modifications to your design.

You should prototype only what you need.

All prototypes are incomplete.

It might be the case that several prototypes,

each representing a part of a single design might

allow your audience to better experience your design idea.

Prototyping iteratively on small sections of

your design has a positive investment to benefit ratio.

You reduce the risk of wasting your time,

materials and energy if you discover

something new along the way and want to change it in the overall design.

Working incrementally towards the final design through prototyping is

an effective way to ensure you don't discover

problems far too late in the design process.

But what if your design idea includes a piece of

specialists technology or require

some specialized skills that you and your team don't have?

This is a common problem when we take a solution-based approach to designing.

But not to worry Wizard of Oz prototyping is a rapid prototyping technique,

where you create a mock-up of a function that would be difficult to develop quickly.

To do this, you as the designer might simulate

the function or its output when users are interacting with your prototype.

To the user, it appears as if the function was the result of a more complex system.

Using this technique, everyone can prototype

an AI based design concept or explore the experience of working with robots.

Wizard of Oz prototyping let's us approach designing for the future

or technologies that are simply too hard to implement in a low fidelity prototype.

For example, your prototype might need

the voice recognition functionality of Alexa or Siri,

which will most likely require specialist skills and

a large investment of time and energy to actually implement.

This is where Wizard of Oz prototyping comes in.

Instead of actually implementing this complex function,

you simulate its function and this allows you to demonstrate

the experience of working with more complex or even future technologies.

As Todd Warfel says in his handbook for prototyping,

"If a picture is worth a thousand words,

then a prototype is worth 10,000."

Prototypes go beyond the power of show and tell and they let you experience the design.

Good luck turning your ideas into experiences.

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