Stage 06 of 9
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Prototype
What does the smallest version look like?
Before the final piece, make three bad ones. Prototypes are cheap; regret is expensive. Test the idea at low stakes — study, sketch, mock-up, single unit of a series.
Prompts to sit with
- 01What is the minimum viable version of this work?
- 02What could you make in an afternoon that would prove or kill the idea?
- 03Which variables do you want to hold constant, and which to sweep?
- 04What will 'good enough to continue' look like — and who decides?
Small practices
- Make 3-5 studies at ¼ scale. Line them up. Kill 2. Continue with the rest.
- Adopt a fixed constraint (size, palette, time) to make prototypes comparable.
- Photograph every stage. You'll want the record later.