Mobile App Prototyping is the procedure that describes the workflow of an app interactively. You can swipe, click& drag, and then present it in the form of an app demo or as proof of an app concept. Different mobile app designers get confused with prototyping and wireframes, and they consider it the same thing. But there is a different approach and meaning in these two processes. As discussed earlier, Mobile App Prototyping is a process that defines the workflow of an app in the most interactive way. At the same time, wire framing is the process of defining an app flow and drawing a rough sketch of screens on paper or using wireframing tools.
How this app prototyping came to notice?
Some iOS developers first started to create various screens in the Xcode platform by using the storyboard application. Actually, it was simply creating different screens in one view placing buttons, and connecting those screens by using clickable events. This app prototyping is needed for creating the proof of an app concept on the storyboard. But app prototyping plays a significant role while designing and developing the process.
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Prototyping makes it easy to give life to your ideas.
Mobile App prototyping helps to build your app the way you have envisioned. The main aim is to streamline the process of developing your designs. You get many benefits from app prototyping like:
- Fast importing – To import and crop multiple images at once.
- Rapid duplication -To duplicate your projects, mockups, and links, helping you edit and compare fully-functional ideas. It becomes more helpful when your mockups have similar layouts that allow you to skip building out the same links multiple times.
- Organize your projects – You should not worry about having too many mockups or losing track. Prototyping tagging features allow you to categorize your files always to find exactly what you are looking for.
- Transitions – It has five types of transitions, including fade, next, back, rise, and dismiss, so that your flow looks like the real thing.
- Gestures – Prototyping offers every gesture that you will possibly need, including touch, swipe, and pinch that will allow you to navigate your app.
- Dropbox sync – Never worry about your progress or working from different devices. Every change that you make will be automatically synced to your mobile app prototyping account through Dropbox. Prototyping supports JPG, PNG, and BMP.
Significance of App Prototyping
App Prototyping helps you fix design, and It helps you address the app concept, features, interactions, and flow.
Evaluate app ideas: Prototyping connects you with end-users and speculates end-users ‘ designing expectations while using the app. In this process, you may require creating different designs with different color schemes and layouts. Each design is incorporated into the mobile, and thereafter it is analyzed. In fact, it gives a soothing feeling to the eyes, and the ultimate user experience can be easily evaluated through this app.
Fix design issues: The designers do not use paper prototyping in real design projects as they have immense potential to contribute to creating a high-quality users experience.
Communicative design concepts: An application that helps and guides to interact with the end-users has more value than the apps made purely for fun and entertainment as these apps contain a purpose. Prototyping for such apps is the most demanding. If you miss a screen while designing or developing, your app’s chances might not become successful.
The Stages of Mobile App Prototyping
After you develop the basic premise for your new app and have a firm idea of the user base you are targeting, the single most important aspect of making it into a reality is the designing process.
- Set Goals: If you do not set your goal of creating an app, you will not know how to design it. The basic purpose of setting up your goal is to save the user’s money by providing them with a comparing tool. You can determine how your app will help the customers and solve a particular problem or improve their regular lifestyle if you fix a goal for the designing team to get behind to focus their efforts on your requirements.
- Understand Your End Users’ Needs: Suppose the users do not have time to read the instruction manual to use your app and create an intuitive and easy design. The clients’ views are scope document, feature list, and app reference links that help the developers understand their requirements. Going through the documents and getting deep insights are the two main responsibilities of the project manager. It is always better if the business analyst is also present there as his brainstorming can also bring some good inputs in it. The designer understands the requirement and draws a flowchart on a paper under the project manager’s guidance. And this is the whole work executed.
- Wireframing: Once you get the basic idea of how the app will flow, you can start sketching the rough screens on paper or using wireframing tools, including widgets and different layouts. At this stage, you can prepare the end-user navigation system of the app using keynotes.
- Defining visual effects: Once all the functionalities are fulfilled, you can start designing the actual screens; you can make the visual effects more effective by selecting a color scheme, widget placing, the button titles, message popup, etc.
- The Final touch: At the last stage, you have to test the transitions, animations, interactions, etc. Also, you need to cross-check the final screens with the flow to make the screens more soothing. Remember, if you are not happy with the app’s design, you can send it to the app developer or the testing team for re-check. If you need to modify the screen, you can suggest a last touch even.
There are different types of prototyping tools available in the market, but you should select one that would be beneficial for you. For selecting the right tool, you should know certain things needed for web, Android, or iOS app designing. You must know the prototyping precession. Also, you should know whether you can share these designs with others or not.
Design is important in the app development process.
It is important to appoint a developer who has ample experience designing apps that are easy to use and that improve people’s lives in various ways. Remember, whether you are helping your end-users do their jobs more effectively or providing them information or entertainment, designing an app is critical for this development process.
