On Mar 6, 2009, at 9:42 AM, Katie Albers wrote:
Well, Webster's has this to say about it: "Pro"to*type\, n. ... An
original or model after which anything is copied; the pattern of
anything to be engraved, or otherwise copied, cast, or the like; a
primary form; exemplar; archetype." Whereas a mock-up is "a model,
often full-size, for study, testing, or teaching: a mock-up of an
experimental aircraft" according to Random House. Comparing the two
leads me to believe that the prototype would necessarily exist
before the mock-up.
I'm not sure how you arrive at that conclusion.
The definition clearly states that the prototype is the "first" or an
original after which production or copying for production ensues. That
means it's inherently the last thing made before the real production
begins of the product. The mock-up is used for study and testing, and
is not defined to be the one after which everything is copied. So it
comes before the prototype.
This is precisely why I use the metrics I did in my Building a Digital
Concept Car, which kicked off this whole thread. I make prototypes
with clients and I even use the term "digital concept car" to fully
imply it will be a reasonably working model of the real deal. As such,
the prototypes we make at Involution are intended to be the final
design spec to be used as such going into production. Stuff made for
the prototype can be highly leveraged in making the real product, as
listed in the chart on the presentation. This is precisely why "paper
prototyping" has been an incredibly poor term, and I almost left it
off the diagram since I don't even really consider it a prototype, but
more of something akin to the sketching phase of a project, which I
think happens *before* the mock-up phase. It's sketching. It's
modeling. Sure... but prototyping? Not by definition.
Iterating on the prototype is where I think too many people get hung
up. I can understand why people think it's impossible to iterate on
such a thing, but it's actually easier precisely because the richer
you go, the more real you make it, the better you can make adjustments
that have real impact on the final product.
--
Andrei Herasimchuk
Chief Design Officer, Involution Studios
innovating the digital world
e. [email protected]
c. +1 408 306 6422
________________________________________________________________
Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
To post to this list ....... [email protected]
Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe
List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines
List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
