MOBILE PROTOTYPING:

An essential part of the mobile design process

Brainstorming in the Wild
Sympathy to context is key to creating successful mobile interactions. However, context is tricky to decrypt because much of how we understand computing has been defined by the static PC model. Many of our instincts and expectations about technology experiences are haunted by the PC legacy.

I find ideating in the wild is a great way to decrypt the mystery that is context because ideas born in a mobile context often have an inherent sensitivity to it. Ideating in the wild - taking to the streets and sketching ideas while on the bus or brainstorming with a project team in a grocery store - improves the chances of coming up with a great concept that celebrates the benefits of mobile experiences while honoring the constraints.

Winning with a Good Hand
Great mobile experiences unfold and progressively reveal their nature... like a game. The idea of creating a great card game is metaphor I've applied in the mobile prototyping process. I start with a stack of recipe cards, a pen, and the questions each screen needs to answer. Each card - whether the queen of hearts of the four of spades - has meaning and is easily recognizable. Every card in a deck of cards speaks its' power. Since mobile experiences are about pivoting people through information quickly, each screen needs to be intuitive. Each screen of a mobile experiences needs to speak its' power.

More prototyping ideas are in this presentation:

Mobile User Experience: What Web Designers Need to Know

View more documents from Rachel_Hinman.

LINKS

• Say Goodbye to Done
• Discovering the Chiaroscuro of Mobile