On The Teachers Role in Interactive Prototyping

Abstract The industrial design students are increasingly involved with the development of functional interactable prototypes. There is complexity in both the concept generation and the implementation, something that the design students need to be able to cope with. We approach the prototyping in the light of representing a design idea, moving from concept towards a physical manifestation, and discuss the concept-imposed minimum towards the complexity of a prototype. While a combination of methods, such as cardboard-mockups, and wizard-of-oz can be used to evaluate simpler design ideas, they simply fall short with a complex device, as there are too many things happening. Thus, an approach is needed for developing complex prototypes. We examine five different prototypes, and discuss the role of the teacher in each. Drawing from the concept, prototyping practice, and the required complexity, we suggest stages of complexity for the development, and a more active participation from the teacher.