Craig Allen

The third course in my certification is called “Build Wireframes and Low-Fidelity Prototypes.”

Grade: 100%

Here are a few highlights and notes from what I learned.

Key Takeaways

Creating low-fidelity prototypes on paper can help iterate on many ideas quickly. They’re great for in-person teams, but harder with remote workers because of the barriers for real-time collaboration. Deceptive patterns are unethical and should be avoided at all times.

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Understanding Information Architecture

1. Organization – how pieces of information connect in a product
2. Hierarchy – “tree structure” larger categories placed as the top and specific categories placed under
3. Sequence – enables users to move through an app via certain orders/steps

8 Basic Principles

1. Object – view your content as “living” – changes over time
2. Choice – people think they want many, but actually need fewer
3. Disclosure – info should not be unexpected or unnecessary
4. Exemplar – humans put things into categories and groups together
5. Front door – people usually arrive at the home page from another website
6. Multiple Classification – people have different ways of searching for information
7. Focused Navigation – must be a strategy/logic behind menu/navigation design
8. Growth – amount of content will grow over time

Benefits of Paper Wireframes

• Fast
• Inexpensive
• Explore lots of ideas

Digital Wireframes

• Use actual content for important text
• List actual text labels below links
• Use placeholder text for large text
• Don’t use expressive content

Gestalt Principals

• Similarity
• Proximity
• Common region

Create Low-fidelity Prototypes on Paper

Prototype – early model of a product that demonstrates functionality.

Low-fidelity Prototype – a simple, interactive model that provides a basic idea of what the product could look like.

Benefits of Paper Prototypes

• Inexpensive
• Rapid iteration
• Low committment
• Encourage honest feedback
• Collaborative activity

Drawbacks of Paper Prototypes

• Hard to interpret
• Tested in person
• Difficult with a remote team

Deceptive Patterns

• Forced continuity
• Sneak into basket
• Hidden costs
• Confirm shaming
• Urgency
• Scarcity