• Home
• Magazine
• Blog & Podcast
• Idealog TV
• Directory
• Celsias

• Business Magazine of the Year MPA Awards 2007, 2008 & 2009 Business Website of the Year MPA Awards 2009

Fake it till you make it: rapid prototyping using Flash—Phillip Fierlinger

Philip Fierlinger currently practices design at Xero. He has also founded iconic US digital design firm turntablemedia.com, whose clients included Apple, Sony and Macromedia. Before joining Xero, Philip worked for acclaimed web agency Shift, working on the NewZealand.com and IRD websites. His work has garnered numerous design accolades, including two Webby Awards.

I first saw Phillip's presentation at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, as a non-designer, non-developer I was kind of surpirsed that I found his talk pretty inspiring.

Phillip has been around rapid web prototyping since 1994, back when the tools available were limited to say the least - he got the idea that as a designer he could build prototypes of applications without being a developer - faking it till (someone else) was making it.

Rapid prototypins, says Fierlinger, is the quickest and cheapest way to design web applications. It allows seamless and integrated iteration, evaluation and specification. He also embarked on a crusade to end the design reliance on wireframe - saying that they allow no context around the actual function of the site (in other words fine for a single page propoerty with no interactivity but useless for something dynamic).

Fierlinger has several approaches;

• Low fi - establishes hierachy and flow
• Hi-Fi - refines the hierachy creates the emotional connection and adds the branding
• Fully functional - mocks the interactivity and simulates "real world" conditions

Some problems with interactive prototypes;

• An illlusion of many options but they're shallow and incomplete
• A requirement for evaluators to need to know what works
• It's the critical path that matters
• The high effort to build and update

Hence Fierlinger's move to screenflow prototypes where he simulates the user experience and the interaction with the application or website through a series of slides that simulate a flow. These screenflows become the specification thus making a clear and contextual blueprint for developers to create from.

It's hard to explain much of Fierlinger's approach online - lucky for the rest of us he runs his sessions regularly - details here.

Add your comment

HTML will be removed. Web addresses will be automatically hyperlinked.

Anonymous comments are queued before publishing and may take some time to appear. Or you can create an account and your comment will bypass our bureaucracy.

Your comment Name Email (hidden) Website Security check

Tweeted

Overheard

• steer seo on Bigger, faster, more productive:
  It's got to be good for online retailers selling to the US. They will be able to offer a better multi-media experience.
• Mark on Bigger, faster, more productive:
  Fantastic! Finally some vision in establishing a key infrastructure to support New Zealand's future prosperity and commercial competitiveness. Good work Rod, Sam and Steve - your country thanks you for your patriotism!  …
• Margaret Holmes on NZ Institute thumbs down Key's agenda:
  Unfortunately it is not just red tape - it is also the laid back kiwi attitude, compounded by educators who think achieving national standards is a bad thing.
• Tim Marshall on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
  The target of higher GDP per capita is all wrong. Aiming for it encourages more production and consumption, often at the expense of quality of life. We need to construct a Genuine Progress Index (GPI) to guide policy. Fr  …
• Peter McL on New note:
  "You got caught up in events at EMI.." and yet shes STILL with EMI - their local branch is distributing her new album. Wonder why?
  
  I blogged some more of Hollies comments on the details behind the fallout  …
• Phil Wollerman on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
  Brilliant, insightful article, VH.
  
  This situation has principally arisen because - simplistically - the world no longer wants what we are intrinsically advantaged in supplying.
  
  And yeah, it doesn't look like our co  …

• Back to top
• Looking for something else? Check the site map
• © 2005–2010 Idealog. All rights reserved. ISSN 1179–3465