Jan 29, 2025

Beyond Clicks and Transitions: Why Figma Prototypes are dead.

Prototyping

Prototyping

AI

AI

Picture this: you’re showcasing a new feature in your Figma prototype to a potential user. They click through the flow, admiring the polished interface and seamless transitions. But as they progress, something feels off. The prototype, for all its visual fidelity, lacks the ability to capture any real user input. There are no personalized recommendations, no dynamic error messages, no loading states — just a series of static screens. Essentially, the user is navigating a glorified slide deck, not experiencing a true representation of your product. This can lead to misleading user testing results and a disconnect between design and development.

A guided path with no real user exploration available.

This disconnect highlights a fundamental limitation: while Figma excels at visual design and basic flow, it often falls short when it comes to simulating the nuances of user input and system feedback. To create prototypes that accurately reflect the final product experience, designers need tools that go beyond simple clicks and transitions. We need intelligent prototypes.

The Limitations of Figma Prototypes

Figma has undeniably revolutionized the way designers work. Its intuitive interface and collaborative features have made it a staple for creating stunning visuals and communicating design ideas. However, when it comes to building truly interactive prototypes that accurately simulate user experience (UX), Figma’s capabilities hit a ceiling.

The problem lies in the gap between visuals and functionality. While Figma allows for basic click-through prototypes, it struggles to capture the dynamic nature of real-world applications. Think about features like:

  • Form validation: A Figma prototype can’t provide real-time feedback on incorrect inputs, such as an invalid email address or password.

  • Personalized content: It can’t tailor the experience based on user preferences or past behavior, a crucial aspect of many modern products.

  • Data-driven interactions: Forget about simulating dynamic charts, graphs, or personalized dashboards that respond to user input.

  • Complex animations and micro-interactions: While Figma supports basic animations, it can’t replicate the subtle, nuanced animations that contribute to a polished user experience.

The chaos of Figma prototyping. Image by Luke Dowding.

These limitations have real consequences. Inaccurate prototypes can lead to misleading user testing results, miscommunication with developers, and ultimately, increased development time and costs due to unforeseen issues. This can negatively impact the entire design workflow and the final product.

The Need for Intelligent Prototypes

The limitations of static prototypes underscore the need for a new approach: intelligent prototypes. These are prototypes that go beyond basic visuals and transitions, incorporating real user input and system logic to simulate the actual product experience.

Intelligent prototypes bridge the gap between design and development. They allow designers to test and refine interactions, validate design decisions, and identify potential usability issues early in the process. This leads to:

  • More accurate user feedback: By experiencing a more realistic simulation, users can provide more meaningful feedback, leading to better design decisions.

  • Improved communication and collaboration: Intelligent prototypes provide a clear, interactive reference for developers, minimizing misunderstandings and ensuring a smoother handoff.

  • Early identification of potential usability issues: By simulating real-world scenarios, designers can catch and address usability problems before they become costly to fix.

  • Reduced development time and costs: By providing a more accurate blueprint, intelligent prototypes minimize rework and ensure a more efficient development process.

An interactive flow built in V0 in less than 10 minutes. 

In essence, intelligent prototypes empower designers to create experiences that not only look good but also function as intended, leading to better products and happier users.

How we get there

Fortunately, the design world is evolving. New tools and technologies are emerging to help designers create more intelligent and interactive prototypes.

One promising avenue is AI-powered prototyping tools. Platforms like V0 leverage artificial intelligence to simulate user input and system responses, allowing designers to create prototypes that dynamically adapt to user interactions. These tools can handle tasks like form validation, personalized content delivery, and even complex animations, bringing a new level of realism to prototypes.

For designers looking to push the boundaries even further, there’s Cursor. This powerful tool allows you to build fully interactive prototypes — and even real web apps — with the help of AI. Imagine applying your AI style guide directly within Cursor and using Shadcn components (a popular open-source React UI library) to rapidly assemble your prototype. While there’s a learning curve involved in setting up your local environment and deploying your creations, the payoff is immense.

Pixel Framer pictured above. A tool a built with Cursor and Shadcn component.

Think about this: you could integrate your entire design system into Cursor, working with the actual components that will be used in the final product. This streamlines collaboration with engineers, providing them with a working front-end that only needs to be connected to the back-end systems. With Cursor, the line between prototype and production blurs, leading to a more efficient and integrated workflow.

Conclusion

In the world of digital product design, prototypes are essential. But as we’ve explored, static prototypes often fall short when it comes to capturing the nuances of user input and system logic. To truly understand how users will interact with our products, we need intelligent prototypes that simulate the real-world experience.

By embracing AI-powered tools like V0 and Cursor, or exploring other advanced techniques, designers can unlock a new level of prototyping fidelity. This leads to more accurate user feedback, improved collaboration with developers, and ultimately, better products that meet the needs of our users.

The design landscape is evolving rapidly. Don’t get left behind with static prototypes. Embrace the power of intelligent prototypes and elevate your design workflow to new heights. The future of design is intelligent, interactive, and user-centered. Start exploring these solutions today!

Hey, I'm Dylan ✌️

I’ve been a product designer for years, designing at companies like IBM, Amazon and now Snowflake. I’m currently exploring how to build better customer experiences with AI. Want to work together or chat about design? Book a call here or send me a message here.

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