Prototyping Interaction - Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

Prototyping is a skill every designer should master because it's the most effective, fast and often cheapest way to make your ideas tangible and tested. In this course, you'll learn to think through and make your design a better experience for your users by sketching, experimenting, creating and testing.

In this six week course, you will be working on a prototype for a concept you’ll develop in the first weeks involving a mobile device. You will explore different types of prototyping, from paper prototypes to a digital prototype and eventually even a physical prototype.

In a world where we have to deal with new technologies on a daily basis, the prototyping process will help you understand the user and the way he or she interacts with these new and existing technologies. Understanding and executing this process will make your design stronger and more valuable to the end user.

By the end of the course, you know how to incorporate prototyping interaction in your design process. This will not only make your design process more effective, it will also help you gain new insights about the user and the way he or she interacts with your product or service.

No prior knowledge is required, but some practical experience in UX design, interaction design and design principles is recommended since the course is covering prototyping for user experience for mobile devices but also physical prototyping. For this you might need a physical prototyping tool (e.g. a Makey Makey, an Arduino or a Touchboard) prior to, or during the course, if you want fully participate in the course exercises.

1. Start it: defining the design challenge & generating an idea

In this chapter, we will explain what design challenge you will be working on for the next six weeks.


Topics: introduction to prototyping interaction, research, idea generation and experience prototyping


Workshop: storyboarding

2. Sketch it: visualizing & paper prototyping

Visualise your idea by sketching and paper prototyping.


Topics: sketching interfaces and paper prototyping


Workshop: paper prototyping

3. Fake it: digital prototyping & tools

Use digital prototyping tools to make your prototype interactive.


Topics: digital prototyping, tools, transitions & gestures, connectivity


Workshop: digital tools

4. Test it: testing with digital prototypes

Testing you digital prototype and iterate on your design.


Topics: user centred design, usability testing


Workshop: testing

5. Make it: physical prototyping

Make a physical object or a maquette, anything that will help you translate your idea from your screen to the physical world.


Topic: model making, rapid prototyping


Workshop: modeling

6. Activate it: making it interactive

Experimenting with your design and test it using your physical prototype.


Topics: Internet of things, hacking stuff, interactive toolkits


Workshop: interactive tools