Faking it: Harnessing the Power of Video Prototyping

Human-centered design is about harmoniously combining design choices to support user activities.

Creating a video prototype helps ensure a coherent user-centered vision in design.

Walkabout is a personal journey app that converts everyday steps into a virtual journey.

🎬 Video prototypes are cheap, fast, and effective communication tools for design teams.

📱 Joining step challenges can be motivating and contribute to a good cause.

🚶‍♂️ Taking small steps can lead to big change and big fun in the context of 'Walkabout' challenges.

🎥 Video Prototypes are effective tools for conveying interface design decisions in a more engaging way than written documentation.

🔗 Video prototypes help align interface design choices with user tasks and ensure a complete and efficient interface.

💡 Video prototyping can be used throughout the design process, from brainstorming and pitching ideas to getting support from stakeholders.

🎥 Video prototyping is a process of using video to communicate and debate design ideas.

💡 Abby, a Stanford economics professor, uses a home monitoring system to identify energy consumption and make improvements.

📱 Abby can remotely access her home monitoring system, control devices, and chat with her energy saving buddy through a personal website and smartphone.

🌍 Consumers can compare their energy consumption to neighbors to reduce their collective carbon footprint.

🤝 The buddy system is an effective way to motivate each other and track progress in saving energy.

📹 Video prototypes should showcase the entire task, including motivation, success outcome, and draw on observed tasks.

🎥 Start by planning out your shots and tasks using storyboards to create a video prototype.

📱 You don't need fancy equipment; a camera phone will suffice for making a video prototype.

👥 Involve friends as actors to build empathy with users, and choose a real location for shooting.

🔊 Consider making the prototype with or without audio, as audio can be challenging to deal with.

📝 Use title cards and Post-it notes to communicate information about scenes and users.

The interface in video prototyping can take many forms, including paper prototypes, digital mockups, or even invisible interfaces.

Emphasizing what users can accomplish is important, and later the user interface can be designed accordingly.

Minimize editing time in video prototyping by doing the whole thing in one take or using the pause button for in-camera editing.