This article is a transcription of episode #2 of IDology - the Mindsailors industrial design podcast. You can watch the full episode on YouTube or listen to the audio version on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or Google Podcasts .

In this episode, Anita Rogoża, who is a designer and researcher at our company, met with senior designer Mikołaj Wiewióra to discuss the importance of prototyping in the product development process. They discussed different types of prototypes, why they are important at which stages of the industrial design process and how you can save a lot in new product development by creating prototypes wisely.

Anita: Hi, Mikołaj. It's nice to see you again. And I'm really happy that we're going to talk about a topic that I find very enjoyable, which is prototyping. I really enjoy creating prototypes. I think it's something that quite often allows projects to go quite far. Maybe let's start with how our clients think about prototypes. Are there any misconceptions about them that you encounter in your work?

Mikolaj: Yes, there are quite a few. As for misconceptions, Voytek and I talked about TRLs - NASA's Technology Readiness Levels and mapped them to prototypes. So yes, sometimes it's hard to understand what we're actually talking about when we say a prototype, because prototypes are different at different stages. We have to do them first, sometimes a lot of them, before we finally know that the product we're developing is the product we wanted.

Anita: Okay, maybe let's go through our design process and match each step or each phase to a different type of prototype, because I think that's the easiest way to categorize them.

But first things first, I've put together a definition of a prototype to maybe establish some knowledge up front and create some common ground for anyone who's going to be less than that. A prototype is an early trial model or release of a product built to test a concept or process. So in that same definition we have testing, exploration, and something that's not finished yet, basically.

What types of prototypes do we have at the earliest stages of projects? Are we prototyping in the initial design phase, or is that too early?

Mikolaj: We can prototype during the initial design phase, but we usually call it not yet a prototype. We usually use the word or term "proof of concept."

Because we want to know if our concept is feasible. So we create a physical proof of how to combine the basic ideas or the basic principles of the mechanisms of the electronic components that will eventually turn into the concept we want to develop.

Anita: Okay, I see. So this is for looking for confirmation of the idea.

Nicholas: Yes. We want to see if the main principle works. If it does, we need to make it work as a product. And that's another topic.

Anita: A proof of concept is something that you can build on in the next phases. When you create a prototype, what kind of prototyping technology do you use?

Nicholas: We use a lot of different ones because every project or product that we design is a little bit different. Of course, the technologies are not so different that we have to develop a new technology for every product, it's not that complicated. We still use a lot of different prototyping techniques that are ideal for the specific project that we're developing. For example, if we're designing a large industrial machine, it's generally accepted that every part that's produced is a kind of prototype. So when we design that machine, we're not creating a one-to-one prototype. We can make small prints of our ideas. We can use foam or clay in the discovery stage. But honestly, that's not as common in industrial machines. Talking about those hand or craft techniques, craft techniques like designing clay, like sculpting, using paper for prototyping. Using all of these different techniques to get a physical model is usually used when we're designing for ergonomics. That is, when we're designing things that are going to be in close contact with the hand or with a human being.

Anita: So basically, looking for the best way to interact with potential users in the future. Okay, you mentioned that you use prototypes at different stages of the design process. So I guess we can say that prototyping is a kind of tool that a designer can use while working on a design to explore different aspects of that design, starting from the shape upwards, towards more ergonomic aspects and so on.

Mikołaj: Yes, we can call it that. A picture says a thousand words, and a prototype is something like a picture, but in 3D, so it says even more.

Anita: Okay, great. The first prototypes are not very functional. They are more general prototypes looking for forms or looking for a general shape.

Mikołaj: We're still talking about the conceptual phase. These are things that look like they could look, but they don't have any function.

Anita: Okay, later on in mechanical design , sometimes we prototype functionality as well. Maybe you could tell us a little bit more about that.

Nicholas: Yes. You could think of it as a proof of concept because in the proof of concept we had a project, like a watch winder. We didn't know if we were going to be able to design this mechanism in all the mechanisms that this mechanism had, so we had to design a proof of concept. We tried to build this mechanism without thinking about style, without thinking about how to cover this mechanism, just to make sure that it would work. And of course, once we proved that it would work, we had to go back to the concept phase because we wanted this mechanism to be in a nice looking case because it was a high-end product. So we needed it to look good as well.

And when we moved into the fourth phase of design, called the mechanical phase, the adventure began to translate that proof of concept into an actual product with working mechanisms, using parts that could come from different manufacturers but that still fit into the space we were designing.

Anita: I think this shows that prototyping, which is a very broad term, has at least three levels: the level of validating the idea, the level of validating the look, and the level of executing the functionality and improving it. That's quite a lot. Maybe let's move on to talking about prototyping techniques, because you mentioned sculpting, you mentioned using paper, and I think there are more advanced ones.

Mikołaj: Absolutely. I think we've all heard about 3D printing, which is one of the most popular prototyping techniques right now. There are different reasons why 3D printing has become so popular. One of them is that it's become more affordable. Even regular people, regular consumers, can have a small 3D printer, a home 3D printer that produces parts for everyday use. But it's not that advanced. It's not suitable for more sophisticated prototyping. So we have a lot of different technologies in 3D printing that we use to meet the needs of the prototype.

Yes, 3D printing is one of those technologies. We have many other technologies that are, let's say, more important, like CNC. CNC machining is an older technology, but still very useful in relation to sheet metal, for example. Because we have lasers today, we don't have to make very expensive tools to cut a really crazy shape out of sheet metal.

Still, it can be seen as a more expensive technology than 3D printing because stamping is just a process, but you need a tool. If you use a laser, you don't need a tool. A single part is more expensive per piece, but you get it faster and you can test faster without the cost of tools.

The third one could be just welding, for example, if we want to make a desk. Something that has a structure that has to withstand certain forces. We have to make prototypes from materials that will be used in the final product. So welding or other metalworking technologies are also prototyping technologies for us.

But then again, we have more craftsmen, as we mentioned, techniques like clay, paper, foam sculpting. So all these different techniques serve different purposes.

And when creating things, we can't forget about finishing things, such as sanding with paper, painting or covering with different materials, such as flocking. Some technologies that use chemistry, such as chemical vapor deposition, when you can get a metallic-looking part from a plastic part and you can put a thin layer of metal on top of the surface.

Anita: And then recreate the future finish of that surface.

Nicholas: Yes, you can simulate the actual product that you're going to deliver with these. And you can simulate it pretty close to the final product. Of course, there will be some problems.

Anita: It takes time.

Nicholas: It takes time and costs money.

However, if you want to ensure that your product hits the market and is successful, you should treat prototyping as a part of the design process that is 200% necessary.

Anita: Yes, when it comes to the technology or techniques used for prototyping, it seems that the purpose of the prototype determines the technique that will be used. Is it for example testing the look and mimicking different surface finishes? Or for example validating the design and welding of some steel elements to see how they work in the real world?

Mikołaj: Yes, you can test the look and you can test the function. Of course, the final product should test the function and…

Anita: Should he pass the test?

Mikołaj: Yes, but of course the final product is something that is already optimized, so after a few rounds of testing, and you don't want to build out every step, the whole representation of the product with all these little details that will be in the final product until you test that one thing,

Anita: Yes.

Nicholas: You like the strengths or the look, if that's important to you. So in the automotive industry, you have concept prototypes that are made out of clay, and then the designers look at them and they're like, "Okay, the form is okay, but it still needs some tweaking." So they jump into the cutting system and make tweaks after the clay is modeled.

Anita: Yes. They combine software modeling with physical modeling.

Nicholas: Yes. And this is something that we also do as industrial designers. It is not only in the automotive world. We spend more and more time in CAD software. beautiful concepts, especially when we focus more on delivering finished prototypes of future products, rather than beautiful concepts. Concepts can be really amazing and crazy, but you have to be able to produce them if you want to release a product. For example, the concept of a thin display that you can find on an iPad or any other tablet in the world was an unthinkable feat of human engineering even 20 years ago. But something happened, technology developed and these unthinkable concepts became reality, but only later, and they have been on the market for several years now.

I don't want to say that conceptualizing and creating crazy concepts is bad, but if we're working today and we want to have a product in a year, we have to use technologies that are probably already on the market. So we should deliver concepts that can answer all the customer requirements and still be manufacturable with technologies that are on the market or will be on the market in a year.

Anita: Okay, thank you. You mentioned that prototyping is a process that is 200% essential to product development, but maybe you could tell us a little bit about how expensive it can be or how to prepare for the costs that it will add to new product development?

Mikołaj: We can start with just a few dollars if you print on your FVM 3D printer, or with a few hundred thousand dollars if you prototype a full-scale industrial machine. It all depends on the level of the prototype and the thing you want to test, but to make it more understandable, we can use the example of a TV remote control, because it usually consists of several parts.

This is the assembly of the PCB that's inside. You have to build that PCB or cover it so that the user doesn't destroy it and damage the inside of the remote control so that the remote control can last for years. So you have to make a remote control out of, let's say, the top of the case, the bottom of the case, and most likely a cover that covers the battery compartment because you don't want to take the whole remote apart just to change the batteries. You don't want that because even though most people would be able to put this remote back together, there might be people who aren't. So we have to think about the usability of this device, even this little remote control. So we have three parts basically. If we want to just look at the remote control that we've already designed, see if it fits in our hand, if it's balanced in our hand in terms of the touch point. We can start with a clay model or a foam model, which is a little lighter than clay, but clay is still heavier than the actual product that's going to be made. So we have to balance that out.

But a more sophisticated way of prototyping is to 3D print these enclosures in some kind of plastic material. So it's closer to the final product, but you can still test the mold to print a single piece of plastic that makes up the mold. You don't have to split it into three parts. So that prototype can be cheaper because you only have one part to deliver. As a result, your supplier will spend less time delivering that prototype in their order. Because usually when you 3D print outside, you're just one of many customers in the 3D printing chamber. There are many different prints and you have to find the right one for you. So it can be as little as $10 or $50 if you order it yourself, or if you want someone to make a prototype for you, it can be a little bit more expensive because they have to spend time describing what they want.

This is the initial stage because if we want to show a potential client a prototype that resembles the final product that we would like to have in the market, one that has a surface finish, is painted, has working rubber buttons and resembles a fully functional prototype or a fully functional product, then it's going to be more expensive. Because it's going to be hand-finished and that hand-work is going to cost time, and that's money. Speaking of costs, it's about $2,000, for example, for that kind of functional prototype.

So it can't be as cheap as the final product because you don't have the tools and you don't have the automated finishing process. You don't have all the things that make a product cheap.

Anita: Okay, it seems like each prototype advances the design and maybe helps avoid big mistakes or errors that can occur, for example, when preparing injection molding tooling.

Nicholas: Yes, because I was talking about the costs from a prototype perspective. They may seem huge if you think about a pilot that shouldn't cost more than a few dollars to produce. But if you want to produce something that cheap, you have to invest. You have to do it properly before you invest a lot of money in tooling, and tooling is expensive.

And if you're not sure that the tooling is going to produce the part that you want, then it's a waste of money. Tooling can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. So if we compare that to $2,000 for a single prototype, and even if you try 10 times, you're still spending 10 times less money than if you didn't prototype.

Anita: I would compare it to a situation where you had to improve your form or even do it all over again.

Mikołaj: Yes. Sometimes you have to do it again. And that's the problem. That's why prototyping is beneficial. And from that perspective it's not expensive. It's a necessary expense, of course, but it's not expensive.

Anita: So we save, no, we spend smaller amounts to save more in the future.

Nicholas: Exactly.

Prototypes are very present in our daily work and in the processes we participate in. But can you think of any examples of existing prototypes or prototypes that are available on the market for customers?

Mikołaj: Yes. But the problem is that it's hard to find physical ones, but if we go into the world of software, yes, I think it's quite easy to show that everything is a prototype.

Of course, it's not that black and white. It's not like physical products are always finished products, and software products are always prototypes. No, but there are some features that are. For example, if you're an advanced user of some kind of software, you can test new features before everyone else who uses that software does.

It's called a test program or a beta program where you can sign up and test out software that's already out there because it's not fully implemented. It's a prototype that you can test out. There are also a few MVP products out there. I can't think of a single example right now, but Netflix was one of them a few years ago.

It was a platform that was built for streaming, and they were using third-party servers that were able to stream a certain amount of data. And you can't get past a certain point unless you invest more money in your own servers and infrastructure or build more from third-party vendors. So they had a prototype and launched this platform. It could have failed, but it was successful. Honestly, in the days of YouTube and all these other streaming services, I think it was a good business model to test and make sure that this business is okay in the future.

Of course, even if you use Gmail or smaller software from a big company like Alphabet or Microsoft, you are still in the prototype phase of your operating system.

All of these updates make the product better. So it's an iterative process of prototyping and getting it to market. It's hard to find examples of that in the real world. In the physical world, if you're trying to get a prototype to market, it has to work at least 99% of the time.

I mentioned Kickstarter in the TRL conversation. It's also a platform that shows prototypes. You can see that it's an idea that's being realized in some way and has some form. but the shape, form and functionality can change. completely.

Anita: Sure.

Nicholas: These prototypes are still test units that can be further developed by the manufacturer. And the difference, the big difference between a physical product and a software product, is the time to market. Because if you think about a software product prototype, you can do it this week and next week, after some tests by real users, it is tested and verified.

You can do it in a few weeks. But if we talk about a product, it has a lot of features and without one feature, that product will not be what it was supposed to be.

So you have to develop all the functionalities beforehand, you have to put them in one device, and then you can say it's ready. So I think we all understand that it takes more time. And time is the most important value in product development and physical product development.

Anita: Yes, thank you. A prototype can have many functions. I would say that they move projects forward. I think we can say that a prototype is an object that does not have a production line, but I believe that it helps all parties involved - manufacturers, customer and designers - to work on implementing the planned product.

Mikołaj: That's right. I agree with you 100% and I think that design without prototyping cannot happen.

Anita: Yes, those are good, strong words to end our conversation and thank you.

Nicholas: Thank you.

Mikołaj Wiewióra is a senior designer at Mindsailors. He has extensive experience in leading teams of designers and engineers at all stages of the design process.

Anita Rogoża is a researcher and designer at Mindsailors. Her priority is to create functional designs that are both user-friendly and environmentally friendly.