PaperProto
An accessible paper prototyping tool made for and by designers
Exec Summary
Brand
PaperProto
Role & Responsibilities
Co-Creator, Designer, Fun Haver
What
To some, paper prototyping might seem a little archaic. I mean, with all the tools available for you to digital prototype and add functionality, why would you spend time with pencils and paper? While I do use these digital tools, I start every project by sketching a few pages of high level wireframes. This works great to get the initial design out my mind and onto paper but it's missing one thing, perspective.
Paper prototyping is an efficient way to quickly express your vision in a way that is in perspective to real use while promoting an agile workflow. Inspired by the Internet famous IronPhone we thought there was surely a 3D printable model to use for paper prototyping, but there was none. So, we made it. The .ZIP file contains the .STL and .PDF so you can get started quickly mocking up awesome mobile experiences.
The Design
This tool took a couple months and multiple iterations to design and get right. We hope to keep evolving this tool and giving the updated versions free to our peers. Another reason we designed this tool was for the college students. Our graduate school VCU Brandcenter has a UX class and we felt this tool would help teach the first years how to quickly paper prototype.
To promote this free tool to our peers in the industry, Donnie and I designed and developed a website, paperproto.com where guests could experience a digital version of the tool, download the .ZIP file and buy the tool from Shapeways if they do not have access to a 3D printer.