Assignment 2

PAPER PROTOTYPING IS ALL THE RAGE!

Paper Prototyping is basically an interactive drawing board, using paper and an interface test area (or other testing area such as for graphic design, web design or product programming). All through college, I have been told to sketch my ideas before taking them to the computer and it was very great advice that not only worked for graphic design but also for computer science. It's like making a writing draft, but making it so that it is a draft of an interactive webpage that a user can simulate clicking, highlighting etc. to test out whatever product (wether web design, application programming etc) the designers/programmers have come up with. With the user feedback from interacting with the prototype (with another person playing as the computer), the makers of the program can have an easier understanding with how people are going to use and respond to the program. If there are any mishaps, bugs or other things to fix, the paper prototype makes it easier for the makers to realize what they must fix. By getting the problems and bugs out of the way, it makes the coding and/or real design that much easier to produce and less likely to crash/look bad.

Obviously this is important for me: "Especially in web design, paper prototypes can be used to probe the illegibility of a design: A high fidelity design mockup of  a page is printed and presented to a user. Among other relevant issues, the user is asked to identify the main navigation, clickable elements, etc. Paper prototyping is also recommended design testing technique in the contextual design process." 

Wikipedia: Applying Paper Prototypes: Design Testing

The prototype is made to save money and time for the programmer/designer--if they'd gone without the paper prototype, it would cost more to fix whatever problem it has because you would have to go into the code and fix it (rather than it being fixed already because it was written in the prototype). Learning about your product/device's bugs early on helps in eliminating screw-ups from careless coding/designing.
Paper Prototyping: Getting User Data Before You Code: A Usability Method That's Here to Stay

It's beautiful that this technique can still be used in any form and for anything. From writing papers, to writing code for a webpage or device, a paper prototype is a good start for anyone who doesn't know where to begin, has a low budget, and/or is cramped for time in the long run. PaperPrototype: What is Paper Prototyping?

I would love to use paper to design my own web site by making the site seem like a page out of a notebook. I would make the site the look and function like a notepad, composition book or sketch book where the text looks like handwriting and the background looks like lined paper. Of course I would plan out what each page would look like and what each page would consist of  including how the menu would look, as well as how consistent the pages would look throughout the site. The content of the websites about paper prototypes was very interesting in that it refreshed my idea on the importance of drafts, preliminary sketches and how the outcome would work with a user before making mistakes on the computer and having to waste time if the design was just plain wrong. 

9-22-08