Interactive Prototypes

Interactive prototypes connect screens together and demonstrate how important parts of the experience behave.

Depending on the project, this may include:

• navigation and menu behaviour
• multi-step forms
• account and onboarding flows
• search and filtering
• dashboards
• product configuration
• booking processes
• application workflows
• mobile interactions
• transitions between different states
• role-based experiences
• complex interface behaviour

The level of fidelity depends on what the team needs to learn. An early prototype may be relatively simple and focus on structure and flow. Later prototypes can incorporate more detailed user interface design, realistic content and interactions that closely represent the proposed product.

This makes it easier for stakeholders to understand the experience than reviewing individual screens in isolation.

Some requirements sound straightforward until the interaction is worked through in detail. A customer portal might need users to view documents, update information, manage payments and complete different tasks depending on their account status. A search experience may involve filters, suggestions, empty states and different ways of displaying results.

Prototyping allows these situations to be explored before development decisions become difficult or expensive to change.

We can use prototypes to work through:

• different approaches to a user flow
• interaction patterns
• functional requirements
• screen relationships
• edge cases
• content hierarchy
• responsive behaviour
• transitions and system feedback

This often builds on earlier wireframing & user flows, moving from the underlying structure into a more realistic representation of how the experience will behave.

It can also help identify requirements that were not obvious in written specifications or static screens.

Prototypes can be particularly valuable when a project involves an unfamiliar, complex or commercially important experience. Rather than waiting until development is complete, teams can put the proposed experience in front of users and see how they respond.

Through user testing, we can observe whether people understand the interface, know what to do next and can complete important tasks without unnecessary difficulty.

Testing may reveal:

• confusing interactions
• unclear navigation
• missing information
• unexpected user behaviour
• unnecessary steps
• terminology that does not make sense to users
• assumptions that need to be reconsidered

Because the product has not yet been built, the team has greater flexibility to respond to those findings.

Prototypes can also help resolve stakeholder uncertainty. Instead of debating how an interaction might work, the team can review a working representation and make decisions based on something concrete.

Interactive prototypes can provide useful guidance as a project moves into development. They show how screens connect, how components behave and what should happen when users interact with the interface. This can be especially useful where behaviour is difficult to communicate through annotations or static designs alone.

For larger projects, prototypes may work alongside a design system, using established components and patterns to demonstrate how they come together across real journeys.

They can also support conversations around technical feasibility. Designers and developers can review proposed behaviour together, identify constraints and refine interactions before implementation begins.

Not every screen or interaction needs to be prototyped. We generally focus on the parts of the experience where movement, behaviour or complexity needs to be understood more clearly.

This gives project teams a practical way to explore and validate the experience while there is still room to make meaningful changes.