7. Prototyping App Concepts

THE WORD PROTOTYPE comes from the Greek protos, which means “first,” and typos, which means “impression.” In the 1600s prototyping was used to describe the first impression from a printing press. Over time, its meaning has evolved to include the early forms of many things: automobiles, retail stores, home appliances. Perspectives on prototyping often differ depending on whom you ask—designer, developer, researcher. Regardless of the industry or discipline, I find it instructive to refer to Bill Moggridge’s definition from Designing Interactions:1

A representation of a design, made before the final solution exists.

This chapter looks at various iPhone prototyping approaches—paper, software, and video—and suggests how ...

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