There has always been a (mostly) playful disconnect between designers and developers. Designers take ideas from clients who aren’t always sure what they want, and turn them into prototype images for developers to work off. Developers then develop a working version of the product — but not always to the designers’ satisfaction.
New prototype design platform ProtoPie aims to break down some of the communication barriers to make the mobile app development process easier for everybody.
Developed by Korean startup Studio XID, ProtoPie does away with static images and screenshots, and lets designers create interactive prototypes that can be viewed on mobile devices, without needing to know a single line of code.
Prototypes built with the platform can look and behave (UI-wise) almost the same as actual apps, giving developers and customers a better idea of what designers have in mind for the final product.
Images and videos can be inserted easily, and the trigger and response feature means you can create animations and interactive elements. For designers explaining how a pinch and pull zoom function would work on a prototype, they can actually demonstrate it live.
ProtoPie also supports interaction with sensors on mobile devices such as your smartphone’s accelerometer, 3D touch (screen pressure) and microphone.
What’s even cooler is that when viewing the prototype, multiple users can connect to the design using their smartphones to try it for themselves. It definitely beats sitting around pictures on a board or staring at projector together, and could be a golden tool for development teams.
First round of funding and partnerships with major players
Studio XID was founded in late 2014 by Tony Kim, who previously worked as a designer at Google and NHN. The company showcased the beta version of Protopie at Techcrunch Shanghai in 2015 and finally launched its official product in January this year.
Yesterday Studio XID announced its first round of funding in the form of 1 billion won (USD $865,000) from Line Plus and Evergreen Investment Partners. The company says that the investment will be used to help Line improve its mobile app development process, and is also planning to enter the Japanese market through the Line network.
“I’m glad that we’re able to work together with Line and Evergreen,” said Kim. “We’ll do all we can to show the potential of Korean software.”
Studio XID is no stranger to working with major companies, having previously carried out a closed beta test with design groups at China’s Baidu and Alibaba. The platform is also being used by designers at major companies including Google, Yahoo, Allianz, Slack and Kakao.
ProtoPie is available on Mac with a closed beta of a Windows version currently underway.
