Mockups and Rapid Prototyping

This is a way of making realistic models/mock-ups/rigs/prototypes of product concepts quickly so that can be tested by the team, clients, and users. Rapid prototyping provides a convincing and tangible idea of what a final product could look and feel like. Models can be used for limited physical testing and to gain users’ impressions. Developers can refine models progressively based on user feedback from the previous model to reach an optimum design. 3D printing can be used but cardboard and other readily available materials are equally effective. The ability to make many and varied models makes it profitable to involve users more closely and earlier during product development: the users give more useful reactions to a physical representation of a potential product than to designers’ questions or sketches. It may, however, be necessary to take steps to counter people’s tendency to regard a solid object, far more than a sketch on paper, as something they cannot change, so rough mock-ups rather than refined porotypes can be helpful in early stages.