Prototyping beyond testing - how to use prototypes to learn more about your audience

Prototyping is usually framed as testing: the process of validating whether or not your ideas work for your audiences.

Yet prototyping can offer so much more. It’s an opportunity to learn - to deepen what you know about your audience and their context. Prototypes are another research tool allowing us to experience audience behaviour and preferences we might not otherwise have known. Prototyping also allows us the opportunity to generate new ideas with our audiences in the moment.

Considering all that you can learn, we should be prototyping everything. And you can prototype anything - conversations, experiences, things, futures. It’s a whole load of fun and doesn’t have to break the budget. 

What you'll learn in this practical session

• how to use prototyping in ‘discovery’ research 
• many different ways to prototype the same thing, and you'll try some of them out 
• how to get great feedback (as in, feedback that helps you build a better product or service; not just people saying "this is great")
• a way to consider the feasibility and viability of your ideas through prototypes
• walk away with some ideas about how to apply this to your role. 

Who are these workshops for

Anyone tasked with making change inside or outside their organisation will benefit from learning these techniques. 

Why learn from us?

Our expertise is recognised and sought after.

Our work wins prestigious awards. Meld Studios, in collaboration with Queensland Government’s One Stop Strategy and Implementation Office, won the 2018 won the Good Design Award® of the Year for the Growing Human-Centred Design Across Queensland Government project. The 60th Good Design Awards attracted record entries of 536 innovative designs with 269 projects receiving the coveted Good Design Award®. Of these, there were 30 Best in Class Award Winners from which the Good Design Award® of the Year was chosen. Over the past few years our people have been invited to speak or deliver workshops across Australia, as well as in Prague, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Bogotá, Bangalore and across the US.

We work with many of Australia’s private and public organisations using service design to help them tackle their biggest challenges.

We continually evolve our approach and we love to share what we’ve learned along the way. We use real life examples and encourage others to share their experiences and questions.

About Meld Studios and the workshop team

Meld Studios is an award winning design studio with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. We seek to improve the everyday lives of people as they interact with the world around them.

If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact events@meldstudios.com.au.

What attendees said about our recent workshops

"I really enjoyed the session - it was great to actually interview and speak to people in these mock scenarios – not something I usually am involved in and really keen to develop further. Some terrific tips."

This course was so much fun and there were many aha moments that are timely as I pivot/ transition my career..."

"So great to see/hear work with optimism and creativity having such meaningful impact in what can otherwise be dry business/gov strategies. Definitely received so many answered to roadblocks in our current customer focus and cultural change. Thank you."

"This is the only service design course I know of that addresses the intersection between tools, socialisation and organisation/of project activities. You nailed it."

"When asked “is there anything from workshop that you think you could apply to your work?” …… I am struggling to think of anything that I won’t apply to work!"

FAQS

Do you tailor and run your courses for organisations?
We can and have done for a number of organisations. Please email us at events@meldstudios.com.au for details.

What if I need to cancel?
Refunds are available up to 7 days before the event. You can also transfer your registration to a colleague.