An article shows you the difference between high fidelity and low fidelity prototypes

In today's fast-growing product industry , User experience is becoming more and more important .

and “ Prototype ” Critical to creating a successful user experience .

So in product design , We should choose low fidelity prototype or high fidelity prototype ？ What are the usage scenarios of the two prototypes ？ Xiao Mo has made a corresponding analysis , Let's have a look ！

One 、 What is a low fidelity prototype ？

Low fidelity （lo-fi） Prototypes are also called wireframes , It is to transform advanced design concepts into tangible 、 A simple and quick way to test things . Its primary role is - Check and test product function , Not the visual appearance of the product .

The following are the basic features of the low fidelity prototype ：

• Vision ： Only a part of the visual properties of the product are presented .
• Content ： Present only the key elements of the product content .
• Interaction ： Only the page relationships involved in important functions in the product are presented .

Low fidelity prototypes can help us split pages accurately 、 And the function modules and display information of each page , Determine the interface layout for each page element . In general, we can use Axure、 Imitator RP And other software to draw the wireframe , Using the provided component resources or template examples can quickly complete the drawing of wireframe .

Creating low fidelity prototypes also has the following advantages ：

• Lower cost ： Have a lower production cost , The design can be completed quickly in a short time .
• Easy to reuse ： It is convenient for the design team to reuse the prototype components , It helps to avoid tedious rework .

Although the low fidelity prototype is a relatively simple technology , But when the product team needs to explore different ideas and quickly optimize the design , It can be very useful .

Two 、 What is a high fidelity prototype ？

high fidelity (Hi-fi) The prototype can also be called the product Demo, It is the style as close to the final product as possible . It can show the product functions and business requirements in more detail , Except that there is no real background data to support , It can simulate almost all the functions of the front-end interface .

The basic features of the high fidelity prototype include :

• Vision ： Need to show realistic and detailed design , Close to the style of the final product .
• Content ： Most or all of the content to be displayed .
• Interaction ： Need to show more details and page relationships .

High fidelity prototypes need color matching on the basis of low fidelity , Insert real pictures and icon Icon . make the best of Axure Or copy a guest RP The style of each type of component and its unique interaction properties add fidelity to the prototype , Add interactive events for related components and pages 、 Configure the interaction . From the visual display and interaction design , Is a completely high imitation Demo Prototype .

Creating high fidelity prototypes also has the following advantages ：

• High availability ： High fidelity prototypes usually look like real products , Can clearly understand the main functions of the product .
• Easy to develop ： With high fidelity interactivity , You can test specific interactions , For example, animation transition and micro interaction .

High fidelity prototypes ensure that from product managers to UX The designer , Everyone can grasp the direction of the product . It can show the product functions and business requirements in more detail , You can test very specific interaction details .

3、 ... and 、 The usage scenario of the low fidelity prototype is ？

• Brainstorming ： Suitable for quick brainstorming , To the customer 、 Development and project participants demonstrate design ideas .
• Early testing ： Can grasp the key functions , Better define the process 、 Information architecture and UI Layout .
• Development validation ： Determine whether the technical level can realize the functional experience in the early stage , Avoid late development .

Four 、 The usage scenarios for high fidelity prototypes are ？

• Function realization ： Ensure that the core functional requirements meet the basic goals of users .
• Interaction design ： Make sure that most interactions are intuitive and interesting .
• Test Development ： It can save the time of developing and writing code , Effectively reduce errors and rework .

5、 ... and 、 At the end

If you want to improve the user experience of the product , Making full use of prototypes is an essential skill . According to product requirements , It is very important to choose the most effective prototyping method , Because this method can minimize the work , Maximize learning efficiency .