AppSeed

"An app that automates going from sketch to functioning prototype with computer vision. Letting you create, prototype and test faster."[1]

Recently a friend posted a link on our course Facebook group (http://enpundit.com/appseed-turns-sketches-functional-prototypes/) which led me to an article about a new app, "AppSeed" that turns your sketches into functional prototypes.

"AppSeed lets you take your sketches and make them into functioning prototypes, bridging the gap between pen/paper and digital, through computer vision. It allows you to sketch your designs as you normally would and then manipulate your sketches directly on your phone. Unlike similar products, the use of computer vision speed up the process and understands your sketches. AppSeed can identify an enclosed space in your sketch, allowing you to make it into a button, input text, map, or another UI element. Making your sketch into a functioning prototype running on your phone."[1]

I thought that this was worth a mention as I think it would be a really useful tool, and the reason is threefold:

1. Having a tool like this will enable designers to create prototypes without putting in the time to actually create the app just to find out that the design doesn't work.
2. It will allow designers like myself that are just designing apps and not actually creating them, to produce a working prototype to help their audience visualise what the app would look like and how it would function if it was actually produced.
3. I also think that this app will encourage designers to create paper prototypes. I think that because design is predominantly produced on screen, some designers, especially students on design courses (myself included), tend to miss out the paper prototyping and go straight to experimenting on screen as they believe this will save time. Introducing this app into the process will perhaps encourage designers to revert back to creating paper prototypes, as now it would actually save the most time to sketch out the idea on paper and import this into the app to get a functioning prototype, before spending the real chunk of time on the final layout and design of the app. 

I think that this app is a great idea, and as I currently in the middle of designing an app as part of a university project I could definitely use this as part of the process! 

For more information on the idea check out the project on kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/appseed/appseed-turn-sketches-into-functioning-prototypes

Citations
[1] KICKSTARTER (2013) AppSeed - Turn sketches into functioning prototypes fast. [online]. Last accessed 12th August 2014 at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/appseed/appseed-turn-sketches-into-functioning-prototypes