How do you prototype commercial design ergonomics?

1 Understand the context

Before you start prototyping, you need to understand the context of your design problem and your target users. You can use methods such as interviews, surveys, observations, personas, scenarios, and task analysis to gather and analyze data about the needs, goals, pain points, and behaviors of your potential customers. You also need to consider the physical, social, and cultural factors that may affect your design, such as the size, shape, weight, and location of your product, the environmental conditions, the social norms, and the legal and ethical implications.

2 Define the criteria

Once you have a clear picture of the context, you need to define the criteria that will guide your prototyping process and evaluate your design solutions. You can use tools such as design requirements, specifications, and objectives to set the standards and expectations for your design. You also need to prioritize the criteria according to their importance and feasibility, and balance them with the constraints and trade-offs of your design project, such as the budget, time, resources, and technology available.

3 Generate the concepts

Next, you need to generate the concepts that will address your design problem and meet your criteria. You can use techniques such as brainstorming, sketching, mind mapping, and storyboarding to explore and visualize different design ideas. You should aim to generate as many concepts as possible, and avoid judging or filtering them at this stage. You can also involve your users, stakeholders, and team members in the ideation process to get feedback and input from different perspectives.

4 Build the prototypes

After you have generated the concepts, you need to build the prototypes that will represent and test your design ideas. You can use materials such as paper, cardboard, clay, foam, wood, or digital tools to create low-fidelity or high-fidelity prototypes, depending on the level of detail and functionality you want to achieve. You should aim to build multiple prototypes that vary in their features, aesthetics, and ergonomics, and compare and contrast them to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each one.

5 Test the prototypes

Once you have built the prototypes, you need to test them with your users, stakeholders, and team members to evaluate their performance and usability. You can use methods such as usability testing, user feedback, heuristic evaluation, and expert review to collect and analyze data about the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of your prototypes. You should test your prototypes in realistic settings and scenarios that simulate the actual use and context of your design. You should also record and document the results and findings of your testing.

6 Iterate the design

Finally, you need to iterate your design based on the results and findings of your testing. You can use tools such as affinity diagrams, SWOT analysis, and design feedback to synthesize and prioritize the data and insights you have gathered. You should identify the problems and opportunities for improvement in your prototypes, and generate and implement solutions that address them. You should also repeat the prototyping and testing cycles until you reach a satisfactory and feasible design solution.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?