Why we do not start a project without a prototype
A prototype looks like an extra step: grey rectangles that are not a site yet. But on those rectangles it costs nothing to discover that the home page is missing a section, or that the form asks for something the client does not know.
The cost of change grows unevenly
Moving a block on a prototype takes a minute. On a finished design, an hour plus sign-off. On built markup, half a day plus a responsive pass. After launch it is a ticket, a release and the risk of touching something else.
A prototype does not reduce the number of changes. It moves them to the moment when they are nearly free.
What a prototype catches
- Missing pages. "Where does the button on the pricing table go?" is a question best asked now.
- Content that does not exist. A prototype exposes every place where text was supposed to be, and it turns out nobody wrote it.
- The order of the argument. What a visitor sees first, and what only after three scrolls.
- Form fields that scare people off. Every extra field costs enquiries, and on a prototype that is visible.
- Forgotten states. Empty list, slow load, error. In design work these are drawn last, or never.
How long it takes
Two to four days for a corporate site. One to two weeks for a product. It is not a separate long phase; it is the first days of the same work, spent on structure instead of colour.
What a prototype is not
It is not a design, and it should not be judged as one. Grey blocks without type or colour are deliberate: the moment a coloured button appears, the conversation moves to its shade rather than to whether it should exist at all.
If people are discussing colour on a prototype, the structure is already agreed. If they are discussing structure on a design, the prototype was missing.
Prototypes with real copy
The most useful version of a prototype has real headlines instead of Lorem ipsum, even draft ones. Half of all mock-ups fall apart right here: a headline that took two words in the design takes five lines in real life.
So we ask for copy before design, not after. If it is not ready, we write a draft and get it approved. That is faster than rebuilding the layout twice.
- A prototype moves changes to the point where they are nearly free
- Grey blocks are deliberate: colour distracts from structure
- Real headlines on a prototype break half the assumptions
- Two to four days for a site, one to two weeks for a product
A reference shows an appearance, not your structure and your copy. A prototype built from one is faster, but with no prototype at all you end up agreeing the structure on built markup.
Ideally the client, who knows the product. If there is no time, we write a draft and get it approved — still cheaper than rebuilding the layout for the final copy.
