An excellent design is one that addresses a problem while also making life simpler. Have you ever wondered where a product concept comes from? It comes from a designer evaluating all of the various alternatives and making that product the solution to the problem. We’re here today to walk you through the process of turning a concept into a finished product. We’ve also compiled a list of prototype tools that can help you turn your concept into a finished product!
What is Design Prototyping?
The objective of a prototype is to have a model of the answers to the problems that are being addressed, allowing designers to ensure that the concept is fully proven by placing an early version of the product in front of actual consumers and working accordingly on the feedback obtained from your users.
The importance of prototyping in design:
Before we go into the advantages and significance of prototyping, let’s look at why we need it in the first place. Prototyping is a crucial step in any design process since it is where a product’s layout begins. A website, for example, is meant to showcase not just the framework of the future site, but also the homepage, product page, and so on. It simplifies the procedure and cuts down on time spent on it.
Here are a few reasons why prototyping is important in design:
1. The prototype offers the stakeholder a clear picture of how the site will seem in its final form.
2. Prototyping helps you to focus on the most critical aspects of your product’s design and development process.
3. Careful preparation during the prototype stage allows for the avoidance of major modifications in the final layout.
4. It allows you to see aspects in your design that aren’t essential.
5. This method decreases the designer’s workload while working on the project, saving both time and money.
6. With a prototype in hand, the designer and buyer can see what the finished product will look like.
Now that we’ve covered what prototyping is and why it’s important, let’s talk about the top 9 prototyping tools for UI/UX designers:
Figma:
Figma is a web-based design and prototyping tool that ensures the security of your concepts. In a nutshell, it’s a one-stop shop for all of your product design needs, regardless of the asset type or design. It’s web-based, which means it runs on the internet, so you won’t have to worry about new updates. You also don’t have to be concerned about compatibility issues with various asset kinds of machine versions.
You may now effortlessly construct prototypes by just arranging frames on your computer and voila, your design is complete. Comments may also be made to the design of your prototypes, which is a terrific method to keep track of things while you’re working on them. Figma excels in sharing assets like icons, images, 3D, and many more that can be readily shared by all team members.
Framer:
If you want to work with a variety of components, such as creating your own design, coding, or incorporating drawings or 3D in your project, Farmer is the way to go. In case you enjoy animations, you may incorporate them as well. If you didn’t know, we’ll be releasing Lottie animations shortly, so stay tuned. This prototyping tool also includes live maps, media players, and multi-platform UI components.
According to our study, Framer excels in the areas of communication, project efforts, and providing a safe storage location for your assets, such as design files and other components. Because the UI and process are a little confusing, developers and designers will need to devote a significant amount of time to learn how to use this prototype tool.
Adobe XD:
Adobe XD, an all-in-one prototyping tool for creating wireframes, interactive prototypes, mobile applications, website designs, games, voice interfaces, and more, is the go-to program among UI/UX designers. We spoke about the product, but what about the components? Icons, images, 3D, and other materials enhance the design and product.
It also enables you and your teammates to interact and collaborate more effectively across several platforms. It is simple to receive and send comments in a straightforward manner. Adobe XD is accessible for both Mac and Windows users. Adobe also makes it simple to export and integrate your work with other Adobe applications.
Marvel:
You may include as many icons, graphics, 3D, animations, pictures, and other elements as you like. Prototypes for desktop, Android, and Apple products are now available to designers. Marvel is a centralized workplace where designers and consumers can approve each stage of the design process, ensuring that the project moves forward smoothly
Webflow:
Webflow allows you to design a prototype while simultaneously developing a real website. It is a prototype tool that is well-known for allowing users to create great websites with no coding required. Designers may even construct high-quality prototypes for your website using the pre-built pieces.
Webflow is a prototyping tool that can turn your prototype into a fully functional website with only a few clicks. It also aids developers in speeding up their work by providing clean code. It’s a pretty dependable instrument that today’s IT giants rely on. Webflow also allows for the creation of new marketing tactics without causing disruption to the production team.
Principle:
The principle is an example of a prototype that allows you to create on your preferred platform by selecting a default artboard or entering a custom artboard size. The technology, on the other hand, makes it simple to develop online and desktop prototypes that seem authentic. The principle’s major benefit is that it was created by an ex-Apple designer and is hence exclusively compatible with Mac/iOS.
Although they lack 3D transformations, you may still make use of icons, graphics, and even stock pictures. For multi-screen apps, you can now create dynamic and interactive user interfaces, as well as additional interactions and animations.
ProtoPie:
ProtoPie is the most user-friendly tool for prototyping and fine-tuning your designs. Using their unique conceptual approach and templates, you can quickly and easily construct interactive prototypes. All you need is an item, a trigger, and a reaction to building any interaction, according to their motto. All you’ll need to create stunning and engaging designs is this.
You can now protect your design concept and ensure that nothing is overlooked. You may also use their libraries feature to rapidly share and access all of your team’s interactions and notes, ensuring consistency and communication throughout the design process.
Sketch:
The sketch is an all-in-one digital design software that can be used to create static designs and prototypes as well as developer handoff. To begin, use Sketch’s powerful vector editing tools to build your static drawings on the Canvas. The prototyping capability is then used to test your designs and traverse between Artboards (or screens) using animated interactions.
In Sketch, adding linkages between two Artboards is the simplest method to transform your static displays into interactive prototypes. After that, you may fine-tune your prototypes by adding Hotspots (clickable regions), fixing some parts in place, and establishing start points to define which Artboard your prototype will start on when you preview it.
Proto.io:
Proto.io is a drag-and-drop prototyping tool with hundreds of ready-made layouts and components. It allows you to quickly create low-fidelity prototypes that you can then refine into more realistic high-fidelity prototypes.
If you wish to start from scratch, choose the device/screen size you want to design for first, then add basic UI elements from the large UI collection. You might also personalize a pre-made template. You may also use Sketch, Adobe XD, Figma, and Photoshop to import existing wireframes.
Wrap-up:
We hope you get a lot of inspiration from these wonderful products and put them to good use. You may download thousand of free vector icons and customize them, including animations, from iamvector. We have a large inventory of assets! We’ll be returning with another intriguing topic in the near future. Until then, have fun designing!
