Not all prototypes are created equal. Take low-fidelity versus high-fidelity prototypes, for example. While they’re both useful in their own ways, that doesn’t mean to say that they look or feel the same—or that they’re both equally valuable throughout all stages of the product development process.

In this post, we will explore the concept of fidelity in prototyping, highlighting the main differences between low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes and discussing when to use each type.

In prototyping, "fidelity" refers to the level of detail, accuracy, and realism of a prototype compared to the final product. Fidelity typically varies across three main levels: 

Often sketched or created with basic tools (e.g., wireframes).

Focus on basic structure and functionality, avoiding design details.

Useful for early-stage feedback and brainstorming.

Includes more accurate layouts, some interactivity, and basic UI elements.

Often created with digital prototyping tools, allowing for limited interaction.

Balances realism with flexibility, allowing quick iterations.

Useful for testing user flows and gaining feedback on specific interactions.

Highly detailed, with realistic UI elements, content, and interaction.

Mimics the final product as closely as possible, sometimes including animations and transitions.

Allows for accurate user testing and demonstration of final design.

Useful for validating design, usability, and functionality before development.

The choice of fidelity level depends on the design stage, feedback goals, and available resources. Low-fidelity prototypes are typically faster to create and more flexible, while high-fidelity prototypes are more similar to the final product but require more time and resources. In this article, we will explore the differences between these two types of prototypes.

Low-fidelity prototyping is a quick, simple way of evolving an initial idea or concept into a somewhat more tangible representation of your final product. The goal of a low-fidelity prototype is simply to outline the flow and to check the usefulness and usability of your proposed functionality. Lo-fi prototypes can either be made digitally or on paper. Examples include:

The key benefits of low-fidelity prototypes are that they are fast, easy, and affordable to create. It’s easy to make changes and test new iterations; anyone can produce them, and they encourage design thinking since the prototypes are clearly not finalized.

The downsides of low-fidelity prototypes are that they have limited interactivity, lack realism, are hard to use for user feedback, are sometimes too basic to reflect the user experience of the finished product, and can oversimplify complex issues. Most crucially, they require users to make their own assumptions when imagining how they would use the product (and what this experience will feel like.)

You want to quickly learn the scale of your project;

You want to test the idea first before you start development;

You keep the idea within the product team.

Let’s briefly examine the two main types of lo-fi prototypes: paper and click-through.

Paper prototypes might be the easiest, simplest way to create a lo-fi prototype—but that doesn’t mean to say that they aren’t valuable. Paper prototypes are great for fleshing out concepts while they’re still in their infancy. You can quickly scribble down a few sketches, see how they look, and get feedback. If something needs to be changed, you can literally go back to the drawing board.

Paper prototypes are quick to create and inexpensive, and some designers might even feel more creative when using pencil and paper. They’re also pretty rough and ready—meaning you can generally elicit more honest feedback from people who might otherwise feel hesitant about criticizing a fully formed digital prototype.

That said, paper prototypes aren’t suitable for the later stages of development. You can’t accurately recreate the digital experience on paper—so it certainly has its limitations. Plus, for many design teams, paper prototypes might just feel slightly unnecessary. If you’re going to be creating a digital prototype anyway, why even bother making a paper version?

Click-through prototypes take paper prototypes to the next level, allowing users to test the user flow in greater detail. In short, click-through prototyping tools let you upload photographs of paper prototypes—or digitally recreate them using interactive software widgets—into a UX design application.

For each screen the user sees, you can create multiple hotspots to redirect them to other screens. Imagine your first screen is a log-in page, but you want to demonstrate what happens once a user logs in. By clicking on the ‘login now’ button, the click-through prototype will take you to the next logical step/screen that the user would see.

Of course, click-through prototypes are still a long way off the final product. However, they do make up for one of the major drawbacks of paper prototyping: not being able to experience the user flow. They are, therefore, another useful lo-fi prototyping model that can be used in the early stages of product design.

If you want to make your own click-through prototypes, check out tools like 

High-fidelity prototypes are more advanced, with their aesthetics and functions far closer to that of the final product. You’ll typically create high-fidelity prototypes further along in the process once a team has a firm grasp of what they want the finished product to embody, using a tool like 

 to help you bring your vision to life. High-fidelity prototypes are generally used for 

 with real users or to get final design approval from stakeholders. Examples of high-fidelity prototypes include

The key benefits of high-fidelity prototypes are that they provide greater insight into what the end product will look like, are instrumental in testing and validating individual design decisions, and are great for getting buy-in from clients and stakeholders.

The downsides of high-fidelity prototypes are that they take longer to create, are costlier, and users may mistake the prototype for the finished product and form biases.

You want to start development before you decide on the “final” design;

You have a lo-fi that is tested and acceptable;

You want to take your lo-fi prototype to the next level;

You want to pitch the idea to a non-technical audience.

Let’s now dive into digital and coded prototypes in further detail.

If you’re creating a digital product/experience, then you’re eventually going to have to create a digital prototype. There are no two ways to do it. That’s where digital prototyping software, such as 

, comes in. It allows designers to recreate the end product in detail, producing aesthetically pleasing, interactive prototypes that are close representations of the final user interface.

Designers can demonstrate what their experience will look like and how it will feel, which provides product teams with invaluable feedback before they go ahead and launch their final product. However, they also take a fair amount of time and energy to create. So, for that reason, many product teams prefer quicker and easier alternatives (such as paper prototyping) earlier on throughout the design process.

Coded prototypes are the closest version to the final product that designers will produce, both in terms of how they look and behave. This means they’re great if you want to gather any last-user feedback before bringing a product to market.

However, not everybody can produce coded prototypes. To do so, you first need to code—which means that many designers cannot create these hi-fi, complex prototypes without asking for engineering help.

Making a hi-fi prototype isn’t as complicated as you might think. In fact, these days, you don’t even need to know how to code.

 that empowers designers to build highly interactive prototypes for all digital products. It integrates seamlessly with popular design tools like 

, allowing you to import all existing designs in just a few clicks.

With a smooth design workflow and a unique conceptual model that harnesses powerful 

, ProtoPie opens up limitless possibilities for crafting beautiful, functional prototypes—regardless of your skill level or experience.

, our free learning platform, and gain access to a wealth of resources crafted to elevate your prototyping skills.

ProtoPie offers high-fidelity prototyping with a low barrier to entry. Ready to get started? 

Explore the key differences between low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes to determine which best suits your design needs.

Low-Fidelity vs. High-Fidelity Prototyping: Key Differences Explained

Figma is a powerful tool used by designers of all skill levels. While it already comes packed with useful features to create beautiful, interactive designs, designers can take their workflow to the next level with plugins.

In this post, we'll explore the top Figma plugins that help designers like yourself save time and energy at every stage of the design process. It will include a summary of their features and benefits, instructions on how to use them, and our recommendations for which stage of the design workflow you can put it to best use.

Short of time? Check out the list of plugins below.

 - Best for turning your Figma designs into high-fidelity prototypes

 - Best for establishing simple user flows

 - Best for adding realistic interactions directly in Figma

 - Best for exporting compressed image files

 - Best for creating and customizing illustrations

 - Best for handling complex design systems

 - Best for mixing colors in your designs

 - Best for viewing designs in device mockups

 - Best for adding animations to your Figma designs

 - Best for adding sample text to your Figma designs

 - Best for adding images to your Figma designs

 - Best for adding graphics to your Figma designs

 - Best for converting images into vector layers

 - Best for adding a wide range of design assets to your Figma designs

 - Best for adding icons to your Figma designs

 - Best for removing backgrounds from photos on Figma

Figma plugins are applications that extend the functionality of Figma and FigJam. They enable users to perform a variety of actions beyond the core features of Figma.

Basically, these plugins provide additional tools, automation, and customization options, enhancing the design process and boosting productivity.

Figma's plugin library offers a wide range of plugins for different use cases, including design systems, design tokens, wireframing, resource collections, and more. Here are some of the most popular and powerful plugins out there.

Note that the featured plugins are listed in no particular order.

1. Wireframe - Best for creating wireframes quickly

The Wireframe plugin for Figma enables you to create wireframes, user flows, prototypes, and other basic structures for your designs without having to start from scratch. Complete with a free library including 350+ custom-built graphics for web and mobile, it is a great plugin for time-strapped designers. As an added benefit, you can also use the plugin while collaborating with co-workers in real-time.

Install the plugin from the Figma Community 

 and run it in your Figma design project.

Start dragging and dropping wireframes on Figma—that's it.

2. Illustrations - Best for free illustrations

Illustration Libraries for Figma is a free plugin that you can use to insert high-quality illustrations into your designs, all of which can be used freely under the Creative Commons license. No need to create illustrations from scratch to make your designs look good, just pick and choose from the library.

Scroll through the library or search for illustrations until you find one you like, then drag and drop them into your project.

3. ProtoPie - Best for turning your Figma designs into high-fidelity prototypes

 for Figma, you can easily export your designs to make interactive, high-fidelity prototypes that work and look just like the real product—something that is difficult to do with Figma alone.

 can help you take your prototypes to the next level with dynamic interactions like conditions, formulas, and variables. You can add text input, camera, voice, and media playback, or even create prototypes that communicate with each other—it's all possible.

First, make sure you have ProtoPie installed.

Open both ProtoPie and the ProtoPie plugin for Figma (install the plugin 

Select any frame or object and click on Export.

4. Pitchdeck Presentation Studio - Best for creating pitch decks

The Pitchdeck Presentation Studio plugin for Figma allows you to create presentations on Figma with ease, supporting animations and real-time previews within Figma itself. You can export your presentations to various file formats, including PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, and PDFs, and embed assets from Loom, Canva, Lottie, Spotify, and more.

For more details on how to use the plugin, check out the user guide 

5. Autoflow - Best for establishing simple user flows

Autoflow is a plugin for Figma that helps you quickly and easily make user flows, diagrams, and graphics in a hand-drawn or minimalist style. Create polished flowcharts quickly and easily with Autoflow's intelligent obstacle detection, text annotations, and custom path routing, among other features.

Select two objects by holding down Shift, and Autoflow will draw an arrow to connect them.

Free (up to 50 flows), $29 one-time payment for individual lifetime access.

6. ProtoPie Genie - Best for adding realistic interactions directly in Figma

  you can add realistic interactions directly to your Figma prototypes within seconds.
The plugin's interactions will elevate your Figma prototypes to new heights, enriching communication and enhancing user testing with unparalleled quality. 

In its beta release, the plugin currently empowers you to add interactive input fields to your prototypes. Stay tuned for more features coming soon!


Open the ProtoPie Genie plugin in your Figma project.


Select the Figma object to add an interaction, and add the interaction.


Select a Figma flow the interaction is included, and click the preview/publish button.


Try out the Figma prototype with the interactions added!

7. UIHUT - Best for finding design resources

UIHUT is a Figma plugin that provides a vast library of resources for individual designers and design teams, including access to thousands of UI kits, web templates, illustrations, 3D assets, and icons. With this plugin, you can boost your workflow and find components for every design need.

Discover the best Figma plugins to level up your design workflow.

20 Best Figma Plugins for Designers

Does affiliate marketing work for designers?

An affiliate program is performance-based marketing where individuals or businesses, known as affiliates, promote products or services on behalf of another company. The affiliates earn a commission for each successful referral or sale they generate through their marketing efforts.

Affiliate programs benefit all parties involved. The company gains exposure and pays only for successful results, while affiliates can earn income by leveraging their marketing skills and audience.

Being an affiliate can have many benefits for designers. We listed up only a couple of the advantages and perks below.

 Being an affiliate allows you to generate passive income by promoting relevant products or services and earning commissions on successful referrals.

 Affiliation with reputable programs fosters connections with like-minded individuals in the design community, encouraging knowledge-sharing and collaboration.

 Affiliates gain access to exclusive discounts, early product releases, and insider insights, enhancing their access to cutting-edge tools and industry trends.

 As you showcase your recommended products,  you can bolster your credibility and authority within the design community, potentially leading to more opportunities and recognition for your work.

Affiliate programs can offer designers a fantastic opportunity to boost your income and broaden your revenue streams. Basically, they can reduce the risks associated with relying solely on client projects or a single income source.

With a large selection of readily available services, you can choose affiliate programs that align with your work - your niche as a designer, and you can promote services and products you may already be using.

However, success in affiliate marketing requires more than just joining and promoting the service. Here are some helpful tips to point you in the right direction of succeeding as an affiliate.

1. Become an expert in your niche community.

Know more about the service you are offering than the average person. People trust the experts when they have shown that they know what they are talking about. Know the ins and outs of that service.

2. Show personal experience using the service.

People will see that the service being promoted is valuable 

 essential when you can show multiple ways the service has helped you.


Of course, not a prerequisite for success, but a big help would be already having an audience you regularly communicate with. This can be via e-mail marketing, social media channels, and search traffic.

For more ways to earn passive and active income, check out our other post, 

We scoured the internet to find the five best affiliate programs for designers. We hope to help you find the best program(s) for all your affiliate program needs!

 We reviewed programs that partner with designers and offer competitive and fair commission pricing.




 Quality matters to you and us. We want the product and service we share to be something that you will resonate with, as well as something you probably already use! It is much easier to work and share a product or tool with your audience if you genuinely love it and believe in its value.

 The reputation of a brand matters. Whether that’s the more well-known or respected brand, we also included brands that resonate with our beliefs and ethics - those that our designers and consumers align with. It is easier to sell a respected brand than one that’s not!

 We looked at payment methods in terms of the payment threshold (minimum and maximum) and the terms of frequency in payments.

 Your audience matters, which is why we looked at the discounts the affiliate program offers for your users. The discounts help with gaining interest from your audience as well as keeping retention rates high.

 offers a comprehensive range of design products for individuals, businesses, students and teachers, schools & universities to become affiliates.

Adobe has a 85% commission on the first monthly payment, and 8.33% for yearly subscriptions. Additionally, Adobe provides a 30-day cookie duration, allowing affiliates to earn commissions on purchases made within that time frame.

With a wide selection of design tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, Adobe enables you to cater to various niches and target audiences.

In summary, Adobe is an excellent affiliate program that offers high commissions and a good cookie duration program. Their popular design products make them a top choice for affiliate marketers promoting high-quality, sought-after services and products.

 40% for the first payment of every referred Basic and Pro plan subscription.

 is a great partnership opportunity for individuals and businesses interested in promoting ProtoPie, the powerful prototyping tool for creating interactive prototypes.

The program offers various benefits and incentives for anyone who wants to be an affiliate, and you can earn a 40% commission for the first payment of every referred Basic and Pro Plan subscription.

As an affiliate, you can access the marketing resources, Social Media Channels, Website, and Media kit to effectively promote ProtoPie to their audience.

 that you can share with your audience. You can request it through the contact form on the affiliate page.

Overall, ProtoPie's affiliate program offers one of the best affiliate programs for designers, where you can earn money easily when sharing ProtoPie’s services with your audience.

 15% Per Annual Lead, 80% Per Monthly Lead for Two Months

 is a widely used graphic design software suitable for beginners and advanced users. This affiliate program is geared towards Design influencers, Design educators, and those with large audiences.

What sets Canva's affiliate program apart is its attractive commission rates, depending on the plan. If a consumer signs up through the affiliate link for an annual membership, you can earn 15% for every sale.

If the user signs up for the monthly membership, you can earn an 80% commission for the first two months, which is a great deal.

Additionally, Canva provides a 30-day cookie duration, allowing you to earn commissions on any sales made through your referral link within that time frame.

 50% Per Lead, Full Commission for Template Sale

 partner program is a collaboration opportunity for individuals or companies interested in promoting Framer's website builder and sharing their templates to be used.

The program offers attractive benefits and rewards to its partners. Affiliates can earn commissions by referring their audience to Framer and receive a percentage of the revenue generated from those referrals at 50% for each referral. Additionally, when designers choose to make their templates paid, they keep the entire sales commission.

30% per Product (UX/UI) Design Course enrollment. No limit.

 is an online design school that creates courses, resources, and tools to empower designers from all walks of life to learn the skills required to design impactful products, get hired, and do better work, all with a mindful approach.

As an affiliate, you can enjoy a generous affiliate commission of up to 30% on each referral, as well as access to your own dashboard with affiliate links and marketing resources to help you effectively reach and engage your audience. Best of all, there is no limit to how much you can make by promoting DesignerUp!

Help spread the power of quality, affordable design education to anyone interested in web design, brand design, graphic design, UX/UI, or product design by joining their affiliate program today!

 affiliate program is an opportunity for individuals and businesses with an established 10K or more audience to partner with Webflow, a popular website-building platform.

The program is geared towards various creators: Bloggers, Educators, Web Developers, YouTubers, Media Networks, and Influencers. Affiliates can earn commissions by referring customers to Webflow and receiving 50% of the revenue for 12 months.

Additionally, the affiliate referral link has a 90-day cookie duration. Those that click on your link in that duration will be tied to your account, allowing you to make a commission.

Don’t wait to get started with an affiliate program! If you’re already using these design programs regularly, an affiliate program is an excellent opportunity.

The best method is to start with a service that you already know the ins and outs of. That way, your review, and recommendation will be 100% authentic to your viewers.

Hopefully, the tips mentioned above and the list of the best affiliate programs will help you earn income in many avenues.

Do you love ProtoPie and want to earn more money as an affiliate? Then sign up in just a few steps and 

earn a 40% commission for every customer you refer.

If you aren’t using ProtoPie yet, go ahead and 

Explore the best affiliate programs for designers, offering exciting opportunities to monetize your creativity and skills in the design industry.

Best Affiliate Programs for Designers

For product development, fast testing is crucial for a well-founded evaluation. This is particularly challenging for concepts that can be better validated in a real environment or 3D. In product design, concepts are already being evaluated using virtual reality (VR), but this often involves considerable additional work.

 lies not in the first-class hardware but, above all, in the seamless integration into the existing Apple ecosystem. This would not create any additional workload when switching to Spatial Computing but would simply add a few clicks to the existing work process in ProtoPie.

Learn how to import  ProtoPie prototypes into Unity for 3D and VR Testing

Efficient testing of embedded interfaces with ProtoPie and Apple Vision Pro

Currently, testing the concepts of hardware interfaces in a product context requires a considerable amount of time and money. When developing a touch interface for a coffee machine, for example, the right display, electronics, and programming must be integrated into the prototype in order to create a realistic setup for user testing. This collaboration between different disciplines, such as model making, electronics, programming, and design, makes the concept test time-consuming and costly.

The interaction between macOS and visionOS could now create an efficient way to place and test prototypes on the product with 

 without additional effort. This would speed up the innovation process considerably. Interaction concepts and visualizations could be developed and tested together with the hardware at every stage.

User tests could be carried out on foam models, 3D-printed prototypes, and near-series products. Any display size and shape could be tested without additional effort. The ordering, implementation, and programming of possible display variants would no longer be necessary until all options have been evaluated.

This would open up considerable innovation potential for sectors such as the automotive industry, medical technology, consumer electronics, and household appliances in order to validate ideas quickly and cost-effectively.

This specific example makes it clear that the success of Apple Vision Pro would probably not come from a new app but rather from the meaningful expansion of existing products and applications with the help of spatial computing.

spatial computing and its impact on prototyping

Seize the opportunity to craft captivating, immersive experiences that redefine technology and user interactions. Don't miss out on shaping the future with spatial design and ProtoPie.

Fabian Kreuzer is a freelance interaction designer and expert in holistic, brand-defining, and multisensory user experience. As Competence Lead Interaction Innovation and Design Lead, he has realized numerous 

 for international design agencies and clients.  

Let's dive into the possibilities of prototyping and spatial design.

The Future of Rapid Prototyping with Spatial Computing & ProtoPie

To ensure a smooth transition from design to development, having the right prototyping tool is critical. But with the plethora of choices out there, it can be hard to know which one is the best one for your specific project.

Rest assured, this guide is designed to help you choose the right prototyping tool for you. We'll highlight the strengths, weaknesses, price, and device compatibility of each tool and provide recommendations on the type of project each one is best suited for. 

Depending on your project, you might need more than one tool. So, it’s a good thing some of the tools can be used together.

Prototyping tools are applications that enable users to create interactive prototypes that simulate the look and feel of the final product before development even begins.

If you’re a product designer, product manager, or any other job title that includes the word “product,” you’ll be well aware of the benefits of prototypes and prototyping tools. They are key additions to your tech stack that help you clearly visualize your ideas to 

Not only that, but prototyping tools can prevent you from releasing a product that’s doomed to fail because you’ll have a way to validate your ideas through 

 before developers have written a single line of code.

Of course, ideally, without having to write a single line of code yourself.

When deciding what tool you need, you should consider the concept of “fidelity” and the differences between these two categories:

 Low-fidelity prototyping is a quick and affordable way to test the usability and usefulness of an initial idea or concept for a product. These prototypes can be created digitally or on paper, and are easy to change and iterate. While low-fidelity prototypes have limitations in terms of interactivity and realism, they are useful for testing and refining concepts before development begins.

 High-fidelity prototypes are advanced versions of a product idea, with a look and feel that is similar to the final product. They are typically used for 

 and design validation with stakeholders. High-fidelity prototypes are useful for starting development, taking a low-fidelity prototype to the next level, and pitching ideas to non-technical audiences.

Learn more about the differences between 

Here are ten of the best prototyping tools out there to help you in your design process. They are ranked in no particular order, as each of the tools has its strong points, and which one is “best” will depend on what you need it for.

that helps you create interactive prototypes easily for all kinds of digital products, including phones, desktops, tablets, smart watches, and even cars. 

Save your prototypes in the Cloud and share them with both internal and external stakeholders, and test your prototypes on the devices they are intended for. The

 also makes it a great choice for companies and cross-team collaborations.

We might be biased towards ProtoPie, but we're certainly not alone in our enthusiasm. The fact is, ProtoPie was voted as the 

 for advanced prototyping in the UX Design Tools Survey in 2022.

Easy to use with a smooth learning curve.

Industry Guide

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Best Affiliate Programs for Designers

The Future of Rapid Prototyping with Spatial Computing & ProtoPie

Best Prototyping Tools in 2024

Prototyping for Innovation and Digital Transformation

How to Build Advanced Prototypes

Guide to Mobile Usability Testing

Spatial Computing and Its Impact on Prototyping

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