Prototypes would serve two purposes: Quickly sharing work-in-progress designs for critique and sharing the final, high-fidelity reference designs with our programmers. We wanted to see and touch designs on real devices, desktop emulation alone wouldn’t cut it. It was equally important that the round-trip was short between making changes, previewing them, and making further tweaks. Above all a suitable tool had to be faster and easier than putting something together in native code or even HTML/CSS. So we set out to find a prototyping tool that met these requirements: For example, full-screen transitions or fixed navigation bars. Simple things that are essentially free in native code can be difficult or quirky in web browsers. It was tempting to simply make prototypes in HTML, CSS and JavaScript-tools we’re very familiar with-but it turns out they’re a poor fit for the kinds of designs we wanted to try. We wanted to see and touch our designs on real devices. We knew right off that static Photoshop mock-ups weren’t going to cut it. Over the course of a day that time adds up. ![]() It’s worse when you consider that making even seemingly minor visual changes to iOS or Android designs in native code can take much more time than you might expect. Even for the simplest of changes the difference between refreshing a web browser and building an app to a device (or simulator) is orders of magnitude slower. When designing Basecamp’s mobile apps it was a completely different story. We’ve done it this way for years-our workflow and development stack are highly optimized for it. ![]() We can then see and click the work-in-progress design just like our customers will the finished product. We don’t make highly-polished comps but instead work right in Basecamp’s code making hundreds (even thousands!) of tiny revisions until the design is just right. In this article we’ll look at how we chose a prototyping tool and take a peek at a few of our prototypes.Īt Basecamp design happens through iteration. Interactive prototyping was essential to designing Basecamp 3 for iOS and Android. Say the word and I’ll paint the whole place! Continued… Chocoholic Anonymous Basecamp is a fifteen minute bike ride from my house, I’m already familiar with the culture and the people, and I have a fob, so this was a fun one. I’m down to fly to Germany (or wherever) and do a mural in your office. It gives me a chance to soak up a company’s culture for a few days or a week while I work, and tech companies always have snacks. Jason didn’t want it to be too Basecamp specific, and I agreed with that, so those things are all somewhat hidden.īy the way, I love doing murals, and I especially love doing them in offices. There is something that looks like a ruby on some rails. ![]() ![]() It was Jason’s idea to go around the corner. I’ve done several murals, but this one might be my favorite. I’m really proud of the results, and grateful for the opportunity. Jason had some ideas but gave me the license to do whatever I wanted. I was on a black and white abstract cityscape kick when I pitched the idea to Jason and Michael Berger. Luckily I have a camera on the thing I browse Facebook with, and I keep it in my pocket. I was into painting monsters.Ībout a month ago I completed a new mural in the front entrance hallway of the Basecamp Headquarters. If back then I was the competent human being I am now, I would have gotten those pictures developed, but I was an idiot then, and I have no documentation of that mural. That’s why I took pictures of the wall with a disposable camera. When I painted a mural on the wall of the first 37signals office back in ‘99, or 2000, I didn’t have a camera phone in my pocket.
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