Prototyping Tools that help design better products
Creating a product needs a design, which can be created using Prototyping tools. For the designer’s the whole process of creating a design for a product is quite complicated, starting with finding the target audience, testing the current market, and also marketing the product effectively. Prototyping plays a vital role to find out whether your design provides a remedy for real-life problems. So, by using these prototyping tools, you can get all the important data you require. In this article, we’ll delve deep into the best prototyping tools that will help everyone design better products.
What is a prototype?
Prototype is an earlier version of a product that is set to distribute in the market and the reason it is used for testing the product in real-life situations and what are its drawbacks. It enables us to understand how much the product will be helpful to the common multitude.
The main idea that goes behind prototyping is to create a design that will reach the target audience and bring back important feedback on the usefulness. So that you can carry on the information and build a better design during the product development phase.
Now let’s look at a few prototyping tools
1. InVision
This is one of the top designs presenting applications you’ll get in the market. The best thing I like about these apps does not only allow you to build top-quality interactive prototypes but also give us a taste of the final product that the customers will receive. It even goes on to let you view it through the preferred device.
You can collaborate easily by using their to-do lists and real-time comments present in the Live Share mode of this application. If you are looking to present your design to notch clients, then this app will work best for you. However, the only warning I must talk about is that you have to import images. So basically, this is not a standalone application as it binds with graphic editors present in the market.
Core Features:
Interactive prototyping made easy
Smooth communication and feedback gathering
Digital whiteboard to interact with team
Boards to show user journey
2. Sketch
Since this application is based on vector design, you don’t have to fuss about adjusting the screen resolution or changing densities while working on some layout or logo of the product. You can even use user flows and interaction with the help of a few plug-ins. This app makes a mark in how it fills the gap of top-quality editing plugins that are better optimized for mobile and web design.
You get the basic editing tools for editing images for mobile apps and the web, with precision to every pixel. It helps you to do workflows speedily and intuitively, as it is an important tool when it comes to trade. However, one drawback is, you can use it on Windows as it’s only made for Mac OS.
Core features:
Get feedback and comments
Share links to prototypes
Shared cloud workspace
Export Assests just using link and no app needed
3. Marvel
This is the best tool for web and mobile app prototyping and also helps in testing. You get this application at an affordable price tag and initially come with some powerful features. Apart from all the designing features, the best thing about this tool is user testing, as it allows a targeted audience of varied ages and professions to participate in testing the design.
Triggers and actions of this application allow us to do product flow easily with our clients. It is extremely user friendly for even beginners, and you can easily get to the basics right away. If you talk about big organizations like BuzzFeed or Type form, they often look up to this application due to its effectiveness. It has popularized since its release seven years before and now has more than two million users.
Core Features:
User testing
Easy to create interactive design
Centralized feedback
4. Figma
Just like the previous application, this is also a browser-based prototyping application tool and is a superb tool for implementing top-quality product design. You can even replace the use of Illustrator with the help of this tool.
It gives a direct remedy to build quality product design for designers. At first glance, it might seem more like a Sketch tool, but as it’s a web-based application, you don’t have to worry about any updates. If you are someone looking to add transitions to the products, then you must use this. This tool has an additional feature called ‘smart animate’ which gives you new advanced transitions and animations so that a designer can create designs creatively and effectively. You also get better handoffs by using the developer tools this application provides you. This is an effective tool for prototyping for designers.
Core Features:
Reusable components
Invite team members to collaborate and feedback
Responsive designs with auto Layout
5) Proto
It is more of a browser-dependent prototyping application. It works wonders in animating and interactions. You get gesture and touch events which are something you get in desktop applications and have a lot of useful features for designing. The best thing about this app is that you can work with intuitive drag-and-drop UI without any prior knowledge of coding. If you are someone looking to create a design for Android and Apple OS then this is the best choice for you.
Core Features:
Large number of ready-made templates
Animated icons
Audio, video soundtrack library
Reusable components
Importance of prototyping
The whole procedure of prototyping is a very important aspect of product development, as this is the way designers communicate with their target audience to bring out the best of the ideas and find remedies to real-life scenarios. So, if you are not into coding, you’ve got nothing to worry about as prototypes can help you develop user flows and interact with your customers without any prior knowledge of coding.
It gives you all the knowledge on how to improve your product design after your target audience responds to your design prototype. It helps you to give shape to your ideas and bring them alive in the real world. So, if you’re a designer looking for the best prototyping tools for product design, after going through these five prototyping tools you can certainly kick-start your work.
