Why Prototypes are Essential to Great Product Design

Prototype design is critical to getting closer to achieving the desired functionality of your product. Concept sketches, wireframes, blueprints, and mock-ups are great, but prototyping is what brings your product to life. You, your investors, and your future customers will want to touch, hear, and use the product in order to truly experience the comfortability, convenience, or ingenuity it affords.

Proof of the Importance of Prototype Design

Prototyping will help you understand the user experience better and expose any flaws or required modifications you need to make before you reach the next step of your product design.

A fantastic example of why prototypes are key to design engineering and how they can effectively illuminate the value and significance of a product is the Personal Drink ID, a device that supports women’s safety by helping detect whether or not a drink has been maliciously tampered with. This shows the importance of prototyping, as it allows them to ensure the product performs the way it’s designed to. Providing accurate information to users once a product is launched is important, of course. Ultimately, if prototyping is skipped to save time or money during the design process, it could cause major issues and larger expenses or delays following the product’s launch.

Advice From a Prototype Design Expert

Todd Zaki Warfel wrote Prototyping: A Practioner’s Guide, a book that outlines the many benefits of prototyping. A few of the essential benefits he details include:

• Assistance with communication and collaboration
• Gauges feasibility, while reducing waste
• Bolsters the sale of your idea
• Tests usability early on
• Allows you to set your design priorities

These points are expanded on in Warfel’s book but also here.

Prototyping is a practice that is strongly advised in product development. Although restrictions may come into play, making prototyping not as attainable for some, it’s important to find a way to make it work in order to set your product up for success!

If have a fantastic invention idea and are looking to collaborate with a seasoned firm, TriMech Design Solutions (formerly MAKO) offers a wide range of prototyping services. Check out our past work here!