Prototyping

Prototyping is the process of brainstorming, designing, and creating early models of a concept to test its efficacy and efficiency. Prototypes help bridge the gap between innovation and functionality. Low-fidelity and high-fidelity models of an idea are created to test the designs and their application under various scenarios.

Prototype development plays a crucial role in every organization, as it serves as a base for decision-making and production processes. Designers and engineers use different types of prototyping to test the design and functionality of a product and service, and to make improvements along the way to unleash its full potential. These nudges and tweaks help organizations cater to the product's end users and ensure maximum customer satisfaction and usage.

We now understand the importance of prototyping and how the process works, which helps explain why this subject in a design course is critical for students aspiring to become designers.

Prototyping is a calculated and creative process that involves considering various factors and developing viable, efficient solutions to complex problems in the product and service industries.

The intricate process involves the following steps -

Understanding The Problem & Requirement - The process starts with understanding the problem that requires a solution. Designers first empathize with potential users, understand the situation, and identify its root cause to begin the design process.
Initial Design - After understanding the problem, designers and engineers create simple designs that might help solve the challenge at hand. The product prototyping process involves designing 2D and 3D models of the product and ensuring it is ready for the high-fidelity process.
High-Fidelity Process - In this process, 2D and 3D designs are brought to life, and a tangible working model is created to test them. During this phase of the prototype development process, a budget is drafted to build working models at large and small scales to test the cost viability of the design before progressing to the testing stage.
Testing & Refining - The prototypes are tested across various parameters, giving the designers an idea of how well the product or service performs under different conditions. The prototypes are further refined, and a final high-fidelity model is created as a base for large-scale production.

Now that we have understood how rapid prototyping works, let us look at its importance, why businesses worldwide use it, and why they are seeking designers with niche prototyping skills to add to their mix.

A few benefits of using prototyping are -

Helps Bring Abstract Ideas To Life - Prototype development helps bring abstract ideas to life and ensures the concept is tested thoroughly before accepting or rejecting it as a final model.
Helps Save Cost - Prototyping helps test ideas and determine whether they can solve problems before investing resources in the final product. This process helps businesses in the long run, allowing more budget for research and development for future projects.
Helps Reduce Risk - Prototypes reduce the risk of producing faulty products, as high-fidelity models are well-tested and refined over time, helping organizations reduce costs and losses in the long run.
Provides Design Flexibility - Prototypes help filter designs and finalise a working model without incurring additional costs.
Helps with Better Communication & Ideation - A working prototype will make it easy for designers and engineers to present their ideas to stakeholders and explain clearly how the new design will solve a problem and why this design is the best one for that particular problem.

A few reasons many design students choose prototyping as a career option after completing their design courses at MITSDE are -

Lucrative career option.
The evergreen profession of rapid prototyping is required across industries.
The demand for prototype designers and engineers is high in diverse industries, giving young minds ample opportunities.
Prototyping as a career is a constant learning process and is always interesting.

A few reasons MITSDE is the best college for design are -

Experienced faculty with experience in teaching.
Well-rounded curriculum and course structure with relevant projects.
Excellent placement cell.
Opportunities to learn from industry leaders through guest lectures, seminars, and more.

We hope this article has helped you understand why prototyping is so popular and why it is regarded as a crucial aspect across industries.