When I moved to California, my going-away gift from my ever-hands-on coworkers at the design research firm, Lextant, was a metal lunchbox filled with inkjet-printed and hand-written magnets—a personalized magnetic poetry kit. Ever since, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to introduce those printable magnetic sheets to interaction design.

Problem

That opportunity finally arose when I found myself endlessly fidgeting with Creative Suite trying to mock up an Aurora-like mobile device interface comprised of dozens of floating images and words. Since this was a concept refinement exercise, sketches lacked the fidelity and sense of interactivity that I needed. On the other hand, as I was finally forced to admit, the computer was completely wasting my time.

Solution

Enter magnetic prototyping. I ran as fast as I could to the nearest OfficeMax to pick up a pack of Inkjet Magnet Sheets ($12) and a portable magnetic whiteboard ($20). Returning to Creative Suite, instead of trying to lay out screen designs, I simply took all of my data elements and UI widgets and replicated them dozens of times to make sheets of customized UI stickers. I cut out the bits and pieces, and in minutes, I had a working model of my UI idea, complete with movable parts—no ActionScript needed!

Benefits

Unlike typical paper prototypes, I didn’t have to worry about my designs falling apart as I walked around the office, testing the concept with coworkers. Unlike stickers or window clings (or printed wireframes), the pieces could slide around and be rearranged by eager collaborators and informal test participants. Unlike the few pre-made kits out there (http://www.guimags.com/ and http://www.sitepoint.com/kits/usability1/), the pieces were custom-made and represented the specific pieces and parts we needed. If a piece was missing, I could simply draw it on a piece of scrap magnet or print additional elements when necessary. To capture and document the concepts as they evolved, all I needed was a photocopier. Posting the enlarged color copies of the magnetic whiteboard up on our giant sheet of butcher paper, I could easily document the interaction design details with sticky notes.

Limitations

The method certainly has its limitations. Because it relies on pre-made parts, it works best when you have a clear sense of what parts you have to work with, for example, if you’re redesigning a site that you know involves thumbnails, list items, and a sidebar. Having pre-made parts could also be constraining if you’re trying to design new interaction paradigms. There are also a few practical limitations: Since the canvases have to be magnetic, it’s difficult to create multiple pages to demonstrate designs. Being able to write on the canvases with a whiteboard is nice, but fat, greasy whiteboard markers aren’t always the best for sketching interfaces.

Why Use It

Applied to the right project, I found that this customized magnetic prototyping kit expedited concept communication, prompted new ideas through playfulness, and equipped people (who often don’t like to draw) to express ideas quickly. If you’re looking for new ways to do good design faster or to engage clients, users or others in the design process, I’d encourage you to pick up a pack of printable magnetic sheets and see how this hands-on, multi-player design tool might work for you!