 Christopher Butler Strategy and Resourcing Hi, I'm Chris. I've been working at Newfangled since September, 2004. | Chris Butler's Blog |
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Prototypes Prototypes Prototypes
September 10, 2007 at 8:25 pm by Chris
One of the most important aspects of our web development process is the first step; what we call grayscreen prototyping. Our goal with this first step is to create a semi-functional website that is malleable enough to allow for a fluid and on-going process of refinement with our client, but 'real' enough to accurately show the structure and functionality of what will be the final product. (You can read more about our process here, where Eric writes about it in a way that I never could.) Invariably, our clients respond to the prototype with enthusiasm and excitement, even though the prototype has no color, style or real content, because it is the first time that they begin to see their project come to life in an interactive way. But, by the time we start designing and developing the actual website, the prototype tends to be long forgotten. This is a good thing in terms of keeping the momentum of a project going and keeping to schedule, but sometimes I like to browse through our prototypes and remember those old times of 'adventure' and 'discovery' in the crazy world of HTML. 
The reason I bring this up is to draw attention to this essential step in our process and mention some cool new developments in how we prototype. A few months ago, we hired our first fulltime Prototyper, Michael Stalker. Since he came on board, he has done a lot of the things that we AE's have been wanting to do for a long, long time (but probably better than we ever could). One goal we've had for a while has been organizing, revamping and making more current the general html that we use in most of our prototypes. He's done a great job with this already and our latest prototypes are looking better than ever. 
Another improvement that Michael has begun implementing is cleaning up and improving all the javascript that we use to emulate some of the more sophisticated functionality that is actually developed later on in the process. Things like search tools, filtering functions, video and audio elements, etc. are not actually functional in the prototyping phase, but they need to get as close as possible so that our developers know exactly what our clients are expecting. We achieve this in our prototypes by using javascript code, which Michael is becoming a real whiz at. Our newer prototypes will be able to indicate the latest web technology in a much more specific and visual way thanks to his work.Anyone who appreciates art would probably be just as excited to see the preliminary sketches for a great painting rather than the final piece, because it gives the viewer some insight into who the artist is, how he or she thinks, and what his or her priorities are in the creative process. Likewise, we consider web development to be an art which starts with prototyping. We archive every prototype we create and often review them as we work on new projects, because they, like the sketches I mentioned above, give us new insights and ideas, and remind us why we're excited to create websites. Update: 11/1/2007: Here's a site with some simple ajax style prototype scripts. Some nice things there! |
Tags: web-development design prototyping
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