What are the Types of Prototypes, and How to Plan Your Prototyping Journey?

If you are ever thinking about designing or building any product, you’ll have to build a prototype. So, what are the different types of prototypes for physical products? Let us talk about this here.
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In a broad sense, a prototype is whatever can make your idea more tangible. A prototype can make your idea feel more real, which can help you gather more support to bring it to life. Prototypes can help you develop, test, and improve your products. Possibilities are that you CANNOT develop a good product without Prototyping. 

There are three major types of prototypes out there. Each type serves a different purpose. So, let us explore those first. Then talk about how to look at them practically.

The three types are Aesthetic prototypes, Functional prototypes, and Manufacturing prototypes. You might hear people refer to them with different names, which is okay. In this article, we will focus on the idea behind each type.
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• An aesthetic prototype aims to show your design's appearance or expected appearance. It often has no function at all. Its purpose is to show the appearance of the design or test its ergonomics. For example, the aesthetic prototype of a smartphone might only be a shell of its external shape.
• A functional prototype aims to show the function of the product. Its purpose is to prove that the technology you are developing is feasible. For example, the functional prototype of a smartphone can be all the electronics connected on a big breadboard.
• A manufacturing prototype aims to replicate the final product that will end up being commercialized. Its purpose is to ensure that both esthetic and function can merge together and also test the product further before investing in manufacturing. For example, a manufacturing prototype of a smartphone can be a full-functioning smartphone that looks just like the one you can buy from the shop.  

A prototype is whatever can make your idea more tangible. A prototype can make your idea feel more real, which can help you gather more support to bring it to life.

​Those are the classical types of physical prototypes. On paper, we often think about them as aesthetic, functional, or manufacturing prototypes. In practice, your prototypes might be somewhere in between. So, it might be better to consider those categories as a spectrum rather than fixed types. Your prototypes can then fall somewhere in between. You will most likely move closer to the manufacturing prototype as you progress in your product development process. 

Keeping those different types and purposes in mind when planning your prototypes is essential. This will help you build more precise plans for your prototypes and make the prototyping conversation easier with your teammates and other stakeholders.

So, here you have it, those were the different types of physical prototypes you would most likely engage with. Even though the above classification might be more relevant to physical prototypes, prototyping practices have expanded with the rise of the service economy and digital products. Would you like another article just on those expansions? Let us know in the comments below. You can also check out our Intro to Prototyping Program to know more about the practice of Prototyping.  
 
Back to you now, what are your thoughts on Prototyping, and what are your experiences with it? Were you familiar with the types of prototypes we mentioned here? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. 

By Tayseer Almattar

Tayseer is a passionate designer and educator. He believes that innovation potential can be grown and nurtured within organizations with relevant design innovation processes. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tayseer-almattar-design-innovation