Design Fidelities Taxonomy

Wireframes efficiently outline the structures and layouts of any design or idea concept.

• Early stage wireframes should focus on the most important parts and not on specific details

• Early stage wireframes should give the team enough understanding to build the information architecture.

• The teams' agreed design-development process dictates what kind of fidelity they need to build products.

Mockups represent the visual aspect or the look and feel of any design or idea concept.

• The client's of "Web Development Teams" don't understand why the design is "gray" (wireframe). This is where mockups are used.

• Most "Product Development Teams" skip the mockup stage and prefer's Hi-Fi wireframes to validate idea more faster.

Prototypes provide real simulation and actually feels like the actual product.

• The prototypes are also interactive (just like Hi-Fi wireframes) and very visual (just like mockups).

• Prototypes have no backend architecture. Therefore, it is faster to produce.

• It is mostly used to validate ideas, gain investors buy-in before doing actual development.