Prototypes, product development and 3D printing

Open Inspiration at Scion DTU June 12th

The role of prototypes in product development

by John Lynch, Copenhagen Institute of Interactive Design (CIID)

The traditional design approach is; when you know enough you prototype

The CIID approach is; you prototype to find out what you don’t already know. Hence you don’t just use your prototypes to validate, you use them to inspire new concepts! And you do that best by leaving gaps, questions and unresolved problems  in your prototypes. That leaves the model open for inspiration, reflection and co-creation. To do that you have to consider the fidelity of your prototype. Low fidelity inspires ideas, high fidelity lets you validate a strong concept.

3D printing lets us play around with this. 3D prints help us address the fourth dimension that is the subtlety of experience early on!

Prototype case: The HipKey

HiPPih build several prototypes including 3D-print models to develop their design of the HipKey for Apple.

Davinci show cased some of the 3D print-opportunities they offer: