In our AMA (Ask Me Anything) series, industrial designer Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman answers questions about design and process from Instagram and LinkedIn. Rebeccah is the founder of Interwoven Design Group, a design consultancy that specializes in soft goods design and wearable technology. She has over 25 years of corporate design experience and has held positions as Design Director for Fila, Champion and Nike. She is the author of Smart Textiles for Designers: Inventing the Future of Fabrics, and speaks internationally on design, innovation and the future. In this issue she answers the question, what is the difference between a mockup and a prototype?
Watch the vide or read the transcript below for Rebeccah’s explanation for what is the difference between a mockup and a prototype.
What is the difference between a mockup and a prototype?
A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT prototype effectively gets the point across, quickly. Here at Interwoven, we make fast 3D sketches of mock-ups to determine function, scale, user interaction and many other things – these works-like prototypes focus on how it works. At the same time we often work on Looks-like prototypes that focus on the appearance of the product. As we refine the design, the mock-ups increase in fidelity until we are making functional and appearance models. The final prototype combines the best of both of these into a fully functional prototype.
We will start working in paper, chipboard, EVA foam, and muslin then as the design evolves we will start to move into CAD for the hard parts and patternmaking for the textiles. We can cut, bend, perforate, hem, stitch and tailor anything relating to fabrics and textiles.
The final prototype brings together the Look-like aesthetic model and the functional Works-like model into a single streamlined prototype that is both aesthetically pleasing and fully functional.… And here at Interwoven we specialize in wearable technology and soft goods. If you’re curious about what our work looks like, get in touch. You can follow us on our website or on our Instagram @interwoven_design.
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