<section data-section-id='1fc26f56-50e6-46fd-af2c-b10acf9e42b8'><h2 id="early-prototyping-experiments"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Early Prototyping Experiments</span></h2><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Prototyping (through tools like Lovable, V0, Replit, etc) went through two failed framings for us.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">First, we treated prototyping as the handoff mechanism between design and engineering. Then, we pushed further and tried using it to make both disciplines self-sufficient, effectively blurring the line between the two roles.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Both attempts proved difficult in practice.</span></p><p><callout icon="lightbulb" color="#8B5CF6">We found the design/engineering split exists for a reason: focusing on one dimension, either technical implementation or UI/UX, lets each get fully thought through.</callout></p><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When we tried to reuse the code from a prototype, we ended up in a weird middle ground where it was neither fully thought through UI/UX nor a fully thought through technical implementation.</span></p><p><br></p></section> <section data-section-id='01ef604f-c43d-4d29-8a9e-5c26034b781c'><h2 id="prototyping-as-storytelling"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Prototyping as Storytelling</span></h2><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">After much iteration, we now think of prototyping as a way to tell a better story.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Under this lens, nobody looks at the code, nor thinks too critically about the UI/UX. The prototype isn't judged as an engineering artifact or a design deliverable, it's judged purely on how well it communicates an idea between people.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This reframing also resolved the ambiguity about where prototyping belongs in the process. Once it's understood as a communication tool rather than a technical or design artifact, its place becomes obvious: wherever ideas need to be shared clearly between people.</span></p><p><br></p></section> <section data-section-id='4e04b651-f2dc-4691-8b87-d8aa30c2e9c3'><p><br></p><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you think? Does this framing match how prototypes end up being used in practice for you?</span></p><p><br></p></section>