WWW… Wednesday! Interactive Prototypes with ProtoPie

by Taylor Slattery | June 24, 2020

There’s a disconnect between app designers and the developers who make their designs a reality. Once the designer has completed the layout and it’s been passed off to the developers, it takes a while before a working model is ready for testing. In the meantime, you’re left with mockups and your imagination.

Software has helped to bridge the gap and give more autonomy to the designer, but for those who are just looking to pitch an idea, a fully functioning app isn’t necessary. For a pitch, all you’re looking to do is provide enough context to show the feasibility of your design solution.

There are a number of ways to paint a picture of how a design might look in use. Stock photos, filler text, and fake user profiles all do a great job of demonstrating how an app will look, but fall short in showing how it feels to use. What better way to show how an app is used than to make it interactive?

ProtoPie is a free tool that does exactly that. It allows users to take their static designs, and inject some life. Charts, sensors, and photo grids all become fully interactive. You don’t need to change your workflow to make use of it either. It integrates with popular prototyping design software such as Adobe XD, Figma, and Sketch, so there’s a good chance it can bring your pre-existing work to life. Are you designing for both the iOS and Android markets? No problem, because ProtoPie also works for both OS and Windows.

Thanks to the cloud, ProtoPie makes it easy to test your designs across devices and collaborate with team members. Users can upload prototypes to share with the team, review others work, and leave feedback. Not ready for everyone to see your work, but still looking for some opinions? Permissions allow you to share prototypes with the whole team or just a select few.

For those who are used to making pretty layouts, but not bringing them to life, animation can feel like magic. Luckily, no coding is required to use ProtoPie. Users have a large library of ready to use interactions and animations at their disposal. These interactions are also fully customizable to fine-tune how users will interact with your app.

ProtoPie is a powerful tool for helping to realize your app’s full potential. It’s user-friendly so even the least tech-savvy of us can jump in and make something interesting. The best part is, it’s free. You can try it out for yourself here.

Taylor is the Managing Editor of Notes on Design. Taylor is a graphic designer, illustrator, and Design Lead at Weirdsleep.

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