What Is a Prototype?

Mar 27 , 2025 | Blog

A prototype is an early sample model of a product built to test a concept.

Whether a product design team is trying to solve an existing product issue or develop a new product, a prototype can create a working draft that informs their design strategy.

Prototypes are based on market research and problem-solving sessions among design teams. Prototypes are used for:

Testing ideas
Checking viability
Harnessing feedback
Verifying feasibility
Refining concepts

Types of Prototypes

1. Sketches and Diagrams

2. Paper Prototypes

3. Mockups

4. Feasibility

5. Video Prototypes

6. Horizontal Prototypes

7. Wireframes

8. Clickthrough Prototypes

9. Vertical Prototypes

10. Working Model

11. Functional Prototypes

12. Minimum Viable Product

How To Choose the Right Prototype for Your Project ？

Choosing the right prototype for your project may seem daunting at first, but it’s an important part of the engineering design process. Following best practices includes defining a set of criteria that can also help you determine what you need to learn from prototype testing.

Start by identifying the target audiences, key features and functionality to be tested, and what criteria needs to be met for a successful product. This may lead to the need for more than one prototype, depending on the complexity of the product and its relevance to each user group.

Ask the following questions to help you choose the right type of prototype:

What’s our budget?
What’s our deadline?
Do we need low-, mid-, or high-fidelity prototypes?
Will our testers be technical or non-technical users?
Can we conduct any user testing remotely?

It’s also helpful to ask, “What’s our goal?” Whether you’re aiming to quickly test the feasibility of your ideas or to develop a functional prototype for user testing may change how you approach your prototype.

Once you have answers to some of these questions, you can narrow down your choices and decide which digital or physical prototype is right for your project.