Matt Laine — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:07:28 GMT

I’m not an IA or UX designer, but rather I’m a UI Developer, so I’m usually handling the “front-end” of the project and making it all work with HTML/CSS/JS. Prototyping to me is a UI dev’s dream gig, because it involves putting the latest and greatest technologies to use without worrying about cross-browser compatibility (at least not for the prototype).

The problem I see with prototyping tool’s like Axure is that they cannot keep up with the pace of emerging technologies. Web browsers today are fully capable of rendering SVG graphics, animations, video/audio, etc. – all with HTML/CSS and JavaScript. This combination, to me, is an ideal rapid prototyping environment with which any UI dev worth his/her salt could crank out impressive, clickable prototypes in a day or two.

Lastly, if you plan it all out right, your prototype can actually get reused for the final product, since most web and desktop applications use HTML/CSS for structure and content.

Plus, how much does an Axure license cost anyway? Less than an intern? :)

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Matt Laine