Abstract
The phenomenon of low-fidelity prototyping is mainly discussed in HCI but is practiced in product design, architecture and speculative design as well under different terms. In this paper, we provide an overview of the disciplinary low-fidelity prototyping practices and discuss the overarching discourses among these fields. Starting with an expanded understanding of prototypes as tangible and concrete models we investigate the tactic of designing a deliberately simpler models for different purposes. Prototyping with simple means with high abstraction poses challenges. Yet, the lack of reflection of a low-fidelity tactic holds unexplored potential. We investigate whether it is advantageous to prototype with a lower fidelity, even if a higher degree of fidelity is possible during the design process. We present four discourses to explore low-fidelity prototypes: First, the concept of fidelity is discussed as well as whether fidelity and dimensions are a matter of interpretation. Second, the effect of open prototypes on communication among the involved people is explored. Framing low-fidelity as open, ambiguous, abstract and fuzzy highlights its communicative qualities. Third, low-fidelity prototyping beyond linear processes as well as the representation paradigm are scrutinized. Fourth, questions regarding limited skills and limiting materials, covering material choice and the application of toolkits, are addressed. Overall, we investigate which design skills are needed for low-fidelity prototyping, as we claim that designing with low-fidelity implies as many design decisions as with high-fidelity. We aim for a better theoretical foundation and reflection of low-fidelity prototyping that is needed for design education and the exchange among different design fields across terminological boundaries. This is the basis on which to discuss the role of designers and design researchers and how they use their low-fidelity prototyping skills for knowledge production in transdisciplinary research.
Keywords
Prototyping, Low-Fidelity, Model Making, Abstraction, Ambiguity
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2023.111
Citation
Brändle, R.,and Schuster, P.(2023) The Phenomenon of Low-Fidelity Prototyping – An Overview Across Design Practices Making Deliberately Simpler Models, in Silvia Ferraris, Valentina Rognoli, Nithikul Nimkulrat (eds.), EKSIG 2023: From Abstractness to Concreteness – experiential knowledge and the role of prototypes in design research, 19–20 June 2023, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2023.111
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
The Phenomenon of Low-Fidelity Prototyping – An Overview Across Design Practices Making Deliberately Simpler Models
The phenomenon of low-fidelity prototyping is mainly discussed in HCI but is practiced in product design, architecture and speculative design as well under different terms. In this paper, we provide an overview of the disciplinary low-fidelity prototyping practices and discuss the overarching discourses among these fields. Starting with an expanded understanding of prototypes as tangible and concrete models we investigate the tactic of designing a deliberately simpler models for different purposes. Prototyping with simple means with high abstraction poses challenges. Yet, the lack of reflection of a low-fidelity tactic holds unexplored potential. We investigate whether it is advantageous to prototype with a lower fidelity, even if a higher degree of fidelity is possible during the design process. We present four discourses to explore low-fidelity prototypes: First, the concept of fidelity is discussed as well as whether fidelity and dimensions are a matter of interpretation. Second, the effect of open prototypes on communication among the involved people is explored. Framing low-fidelity as open, ambiguous, abstract and fuzzy highlights its communicative qualities. Third, low-fidelity prototyping beyond linear processes as well as the representation paradigm are scrutinized. Fourth, questions regarding limited skills and limiting materials, covering material choice and the application of toolkits, are addressed. Overall, we investigate which design skills are needed for low-fidelity prototyping, as we claim that designing with low-fidelity implies as many design decisions as with high-fidelity. We aim for a better theoretical foundation and reflection of low-fidelity prototyping that is needed for design education and the exchange among different design fields across terminological boundaries. This is the basis on which to discuss the role of designers and design researchers and how they use their low-fidelity prototyping skills for knowledge production in transdisciplinary research.