Given the range of functionality and fidelity represented by different prototyping methods it’s difficult to pinpoint the practices use in digital marketing. But as client goals and user experiences grow more complex it’s nice to have a choice of tools for proposing solutions.

For a recent technology offsite every member of our team was tasked with building a prototype and the gamut of fidelities were presented: from scribbles on note cards to clickable iPad applications. The technique that really caught my eye was holding down a sweet spot in the middle—a clickable prototype made with Adobe’s Fireworks software.

The prototype was exported as a PDF which meant that it could be passed around and commented on just as easily as the usual Photoshop exports pasted into power points. However, the audience for a prototype doesn’t always have to be the client. High fidelity prototypes like those created with Fireworks can get designers thinking about interaction and states that weren’t brought to mind when they were building out comps.

Another great quality was that no code was required to create the clickable prototype, meaning that a UX/UI or creative contributor could create this flavor of prototype with the same ease as a developer. Not that I’m looking to remove developers from the brainstorming and prototyping loop. In fact, I’ve found that the same familiarity with technology that makes developers useful as whistle blowers in early brainstorming sessions also enables them to dream up solutions leveraging creative uses of new tools.

Since the offsite I tried my own hand at Fireworks prototyping for iPhone using a technique outlined on Adobe’s developer connection (http://freehandmx2.info/devnet/fireworks/articles/prototype_iphone_app.html) and walked away with a positive impression. As a developer who’s clumsily familiar with photoshop and illustrator I was able to follow through the tutorial and have a clickable prototype on my own phone in just under a days work.

Depending on how closely the prototype matches the final deliverable, it’s possible that assets from a clickable Fireworks prototype could be exported for actual use. Granted, that’s a rare case and the temptation to use a functional prototype as the groundwork for the final application has caused more than a few headaches. High fidelity prototypes can also cause confusion over what aspects of the project are represented and what’s still left to imagination.

However, as long as everyone involved keeps the pitfalls in mind and the prototype is talked through as clearly as a power point deck there are plenty of benefits to reap from the art of prototyping. I’m also curious to see where Adobe steers Fireworks—especially if it’s into the arena with Omnigraffle and Balsamiq Mockups!

Jordan Gray, Senior Rich Media Developer at Organic