You know, this idea of ‘learning to let go’ in the design world? I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and it just really clicks with me. From what I’ve seen, it’s a super important part of growing and making new things with digital products.
Prototypes are not just simple drafts. For me, they’re a way to show you have to be flexible. When you let go of one idea, you’re not just avoiding a possible failure. You’re making space for something new to come up.
But, being too attached to our ideas can be a big, big problem. We tend to fall in love with them, right? We defend them like they are a part of us. In design, and specially in user centered design, this can make it really hard to see clearly and respond to what people actually need.
So that’s why seeing prototypes as a tool to “detach” is key. They let you experiment and fail fast, and it doesn’t hurt so much to throw away an idea that you weren’t fully dedicated to. And in the end, this gets you to better solutions.
There’s a quote from Alberto Savoia that explains this philosophy perfectly. He says it’s important to make sure you are building ‘the right thing’ before you build ‘the thing right’. This way of thinking is just so practical, it saves resources and it makes you check your ideas before you commit to them completely.