DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PROTOTYPES, WIREFRAMES AND MOCKUPS
Category: Design | Posted date: 2022-04-12 20:58:59 | Posted by: Admin
To meet the project's goals and objectives, a successful UX project relies largely on testing. Designers can construct blueprints and models of the ultimate product for usability testing using wireframes, mockups, and prototypes.
The issue is that many people confuse wireframes, mockups, and prototypes, whereas they are all different and used at different phases of the design process.
WIREFRAME
Form the foundation of a digital product, such as a website, app, game, or other software. Lines and shapes are used to outline each screen, with notes explaining the functionality.
Designers can use a pen and paper (paper wireframes) or a design tool like UXPin to build wireframes (digital wireframes).
Wireframes are referred to as low-fidelity designs since they are typically black and white with minimal or no functionality, whether on paper or digitally.
During low-fidelity prototypes, designers employ both paper and digital wireframes, which we'll go over later in this article.
PAPER WIREFRAME
Paper wireframes are hand-drawn sketches used by UX designers to envision page layouts and ideas. They are typically created with a black marker and A4 printer paper.
Paper wireframing is frequently a collaborative endeavor in which teams meet to communicate and draw ideas, which are frequently annotated for clarity.
The main advantage of paper wireframing is that it allows teams to quickly generate a large number of design concepts in a collaborative atmosphere at a low cost. It's simple to cross something out or start over with a new piece of paper (or digital whiteboard).
DIGITAL WIREFRAMES
Simple lines and forms are used in digital wireframes, just as they are in paper wireframes. When developing a digital version in a design tool, many designers utilize their final paper wireframes as a reference.
Although digital wireframes are devoid of color and features, they begin to resemble an app or website, complete with buttons, inputs, text fields, and headings. As content placeholders, most designers employ boxes (square or rectangle with an X through the centre) and dummy text.
MOCKUPS
Mockups are visual mockups of a finished product, software, or website that are correct. Color, contrast, content (text/images/video thumbnails), icons, and other design aspects are all included in these illustrations.
Mockups are the artist's representation of wireframes, which are blueprints.
Because they incorporate features that allow users and stakeholders to imagine the final product, mockups are typically referred to as high-fidelity designs.
Mockups are frequently used by UX teams to present to stakeholders or clients since they can easily convey functionality and design concepts. Mockups can be beneficial for some usability studies, however, they lack functionality, which limits any meaningful testing or feedback.
PROTOTYPE
UX teams employ a simulation or sample version of a final product for testing before launch.
A single wireframe or mockup can be used to develop prototypes. A screen becomes a prototype as soon as you add any functionality to it—for example, clicking or tapping on a hamburger icon to open the navigation menu.
Prototypes come in two forms:
- Low-fidelity prototypes
- High-fidelity prototypes
LOW-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
To evaluate user flows, low-fidelity prototypes use paper or digital wireframes. Low-fidelity prototypes are also important for developing a product's or website's information architecture.
Paper prototyping may become a little wild at times, with team members simulating taps, scrolling, and swipes to see how people interact with a product.
Moving from paper to digital low-fidelity prototypes helps UX designers to evaluate user flows using basic click/tap interactions. Digital low-fidelity prototypes, like paper prototypes, use wireframes with no color or information.
HIGH-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
Once the mockups for a design have been completed, it's time to connect all of the buttons and links to build a working high-fidelity prototype.
UX designers require high-fidelity prototypes that appear and operate as closely as possible to the final product so that any usability concerns may be addressed before the final draft is sent to engineering.
Most design tools lack the capacity to display real data, collect data from inputs, play video/audio content, or perform other tasks that require coding.
WHEN TO USE WIREFRAMES
Wireframes are commonly used by UX teams throughout the early stages of design. There's no need to go back once a wireframe becomes a mockup—unless you're rethinking the product!
WHEN TO USE MOCKUPS
In preparation for hi-fi prototyping, UX designers will generate mockups from wireframes. Mockups are also used by UX teams to present designs to stakeholders or clients.
WHEN TO USE PROTOTYPES
Prototypes are used at every stage of the design process, from concept to completion. Usability testing would not be possible without prototypes. At every level of the process, UX teams develop lo-fi and hi-fi prototypes to test, collect feedback, make adjustments, and repeat.
