What sets our process apart
Head of Product at Way2B1
VP of Product at Riva International, Inc.
CEO & Co-Founder at Factually Health
Head of Digital Product at Lykon
What is a prototype in UX design, and how does it differ from traditional product development?
A prototype in UX/UI design is an early version of a digital product — from basic wireframes to fully immersive simulations — used for testing and validating design concepts.
Unlike traditional product development, where the focus is on the final product, UX design prototyping allows for iterative testing before full development. This minimizes risks, saves time, and ensures the final product meets user requirements effectively.
At Cieden, our prototyping approach is informed by prior business analysis, ensuring prototypes align with higher business goals. Using our expertise across various industries and innovative practices like AI design, we deliver prototypes that can meet the unique needs of each project and put them in the leading positions in the market.
Explore our work through the experience of our real user cases.
At what stage of my project should I consider app prototyping services?
It's beneficial to hire UX prototypers at the early stages of your project when you're still exploring, validating, or refining a product idea or concept. User experience prototyping helps understand user needs, test design concepts, and gather feedback before major resources are invested.
Additionally, prototyping is valuable during design iterations, before major investments, or when introducing new and complex features.
What happens after the prototyping phase? Can Cieden assist with further development?
After the prototyping phase, our role as a user experience prototyping consultant can extend to assisting with further design.
We’ll help you finalize UI/UX design, refine the product based on feedback, and prepare for the final development. Cieden designers collaborate closely with our clients to ensure that the transition is seamless, aligning the development efforts with the project's goals and user expectations.
Can changes still be made after prototypes are finished?
Yes, changes can still be made after the prototypes are finished. As an experienced UX prototyping agency, we approach prototyping as a crucial phase for identifying areas for improvement, and it's expected that adjustments may be needed.
How long does the typical prototyping process take?
Designing a high-fidelity prototype typically takes around 3 weeks, with constant feedback from the design team. Duration may vary based on project complexity and detailed requirements. For rapid UX prototyping, we can shorten the design period to meet tight project timelines.
If you're looking to hire a prototype designer or need more details on the process, contact us for a free consultation. We'll discuss your project in-depth and provide approximate estimates based on your individual needs.
What is AI UX prototyping?
AI UX prototyping is the use of artificial intelligence to rapidly create, test, and iterate product designs. Instead of manual creation, designers use AI to generate design concepts, user flows, and code from prompts, accelerating time-to-market. Key benefits of AI UX prototyping include: accelerating Time-to-Market, translating a product vision into a tangible design, ensuring design consistency and scalability across complex, multi-feature products.
When you need an AI prototype and Proof of concept (PoC)
For Way2B1's CPO, Bruce Yang, we built a functional AI prototype that moved stakeholders beyond mockups and demonstrated clear product value. This demo eliminated ambiguity and forged a shared vision across the entire team.
We build prototypes in a secure sandbox, completely separate from your live systems and real customer data. Access is strictly controlled through private, password-protected environments, so only your team can view the prototype.
Our process is also flexible enough to be adjusted to meet your company's specific security policies. When the project is complete, the prototype is instantly and completely removed, leaving no lingering security risks behind.
How AI prototyping is different from UX prototyping?
While traditional UX prototyping manually validates specific user flows, AI prototyping uses generative models to create and test a vast array of design variations and data-driven layouts simultaneously. This allows teams to move beyond testing singular hypotheses to discover optimal solutions for complex systems, personalizing user experiences at a scale previously unimaginable. A specialized agency can help integrate this strategic capability, ensuring your prototypes test not just usability but the core intelligence of your product.
What firms specialize in AI-driven product design and prototyping?
The field of AI-native design is new, with a few forward-thinking agencies and specialized teams leading the charge. Firms like Cieden stand out by combining deep expertise in complex domains like SalesTech, FinTech, and Healthcare with a dedicated practice for applying generative AI to solve core product challenges, from data visualization to dynamic user journeys. True specialists move beyond just using AI tools; they help you build a sustainable, AI-driven design culture within your organization.
To help you navigate the landscape, we’ve compiled a list of agencies that specialize in this space. You can review it here:
How to get your entire team prototyping with AI?
Start with WHY. The single clear reason that would be meaningful to your team is the foundation for your roadmap. Next, select a core set of AI prototyping tools that fit your team’s workflow and run pilot projects on well-defined features to build momentum and establish best practices. To accelerate this transition, a hands-on workshop from an AI-native design agency can equip your entire product team with a methodology. A great place to start is by watching the AI in design webinar from Volodymyr Merlenko, a prominent voice in AI prototyping in Europe who creates prototypes literally every day at Cieden.
What are the best AI tools for rapid prototyping?
The best AI prototyping stack depends on the task, as different tools solve for different parts of the workflow from code generation to user flow simulation. For instance, tools like Cursor and v0.dev excel at accelerating front-end development from prompts, while large language models like Claude are powerful for brainstorming user flows and generating contextual copy at scale. True velocity, however, comes from integrating these tools into a cohesive design system, a process where an experienced partner can help you select and implement the right stack for your specific product challenges.
