Prototyping in Design

Christian Cantrell, designer at Adobe:

Whether you’re shooting a movie, designing a rocket, or building software, the earlier you realize you need to make changes, the cheaper, easier, and faster they are. While it’s tempting to try to make perceived progress early on in a project’s lifecycle by skipping the prototyping phase, you’re taking out a loan that you will probably have to pay back with exorbitant interest. Embracing prototyping at the design phase of any endeavor — especially when combined with research — is like an inexpensive insurance policy that covers you against market indifference, customer backlash, and overwhelming support costs.