Testing automotive HMI (Human-Machine Interfaces) in actual prototype cars under real-world conditions is an option that rarely presents itself to the UX and product teams of automotive OEMs. They often resort to suboptimal workarounds, like static mockups, which lack interactivity and fail to deliver an authentic test user experience. This creates ripple effects across the entire product development cycle.

Here’s a quick rundown of the problem at hand:

Testing HMIs in actual prototype cars is a rare luxury for UX and product teams.

Most teams rely on static mockups that lack interactivity and fail to simulate real driving conditions.

 development has begun, making fixes time-consuming and expensive.

What could’ve been a simple design tweak becomes a complex, multi-team fix.

Even the seating bucks, used to simulate a cockpit, fail to recreate real driving conditions.

Simulated environments often rely on game-like data, missing the nuances of actual road scenarios.

In the automotive industry, HMI is not just about aesthetics; it’s about 

Interactions must be intuitive and distraction-free to prevent accidents.

That’s why it's essential to test HMIs as close to the real product as possible, using real-world data and interactions.

Enter RemotiveLabs & ProtoPie: A Game-Changing Combo

To overcome the challenges of realistic UX testing, you need two key ingredients:

An HMI that looks and behaves like the final product.

Real driving data that powers interactions in real time.

That’s exactly what ProtoPie and RemotiveLabs deliver, together.

The Ideal Prototyping Duo: ProtoPie & RemotiveLabs

With ProtoPie, static mockups are transformed into interactive, high-fidelity prototypes trusted by companies like BMW and Mercedes to accelerate development and shift testing earlier in the process. Designers and product teams can easily build prototypes that go far beyond basic visuals, enabling real interactions and logic.

But visual realism is only half the battle. For prototypes to truly reflect real-world conditions, they need real data. That’s where RemotiveLabs steps in. With RemotiveCloud, you can feed actual vehicle data into your prototype in just a few clicks. Whether you're simulating driving scenarios or connecting to a live vehicle, RemotiveLabs makes it easy. With RemotiveBroker, you can even stream real-time car data directly into your Pie.

This combination doesn’t just look like the final product; it acts like it, too. And that’s what makes it so powerful.

Interested in how you can use ProtoPie and RemotiveLabs to create an interactive high-fidelity prototype using real car data? 

Leveraging interactive high-fidelity prototyping in combination with real-world data opens up a whole new world when it comes to automotive UX design. It shifts the entire ideation and iteration process to the left in the development cycle.

 Designers can test and refine concepts in realistic environments long before a line of production code is written.

 Real data enables more accurate, scenario-specific testing, revealing interaction flaws that static prototypes often miss.

 Catching usability issues early eliminates the need for expensive fixes down the line.

 Prototypes powered by actual vehicle data allow teams to validate critical interactions under realistic driving conditions.

Explore how ProtoPie users are already leveraging RemotiveLabs’ platform 

By combining ProtoPie and RemotiveLabs, companies can create prototypes that not only look like the final product but behave like it, too. 

This allows for more authentic, data-driven user testing far earlier in the design process than typically possible.

Sharper insights, faster iterations, and significantly more confidence before entering development.

 This approach doesn’t just impress stakeholders - it fundamentally changes the way automotive companies validate their UX design. And the best part? It’s a repeatable process that any designer and engineer in any industry can adopt.

 on the road ahead towards the future of automotive UX.

Learn how combining ProtoPie and RemotiveLabs enables major automotive OEMs to prototype and test automotive interfaces with real vehicle data.

Automotive UX Design with ProtoPie and RemotiveLabs

High-Fidelity Prototyping Joins the Shift-Left Strategy

The Shift-Left approach is well-known in software development. Pushing critical stages like validation, testing, and feedback earlier in the process to ensure you catch issues before they escalate. It has become a classic add-on to Agile Development in general. But why should this tried and tested method be limited to the development stage? We at ProtoPie believe that Shift-Left is just as important, if not even more so, when it comes to the early UX stages of the product development cycle.

In this blog, we’ll explore how ProtoPie is empowering companies in early high-fidelity prototyping and why this is crucial for faster, more efficient product development.

The Shift-Left strategy in software development brings key activities like testing, validation, and feedback earlier in the product development cycle, reducing the risk of late-stage issues and costly fixes. By extension, UX prototyping plays a crucial role by helping teams identify potential problems and gather feedback before full-scale development begins. Prototypes give designers and developers an interactive way to test ideas quickly, ensuring that issues are addressed early, saving time and money down the line.

How High-Fidelity Prototyping Tools Power the Shift-Left Approach

Prototyping is the cornerstone of the Shift-Left strategy because it provides rapid, iterative testing and validation. Tools like

 play a critical role at every stage of the Shift-Left strategy. Let’s break down how prototyping fits into each phase:

 allows you to gather immediate feedback from stakeholders and users. By testing your concepts early, you can identify usability issues, design flaws, or user concerns before committing to a full product build. This rapid experimentation ensures that teams can quickly assess ideas without committing significant resources.

As designs evolve, high-fidelity prototypes enable continuous real-world user testing, allowing for rapid changes based on hands-on feedback before any code is written. Companies like 

 to create high-fidelity prototypes at the early stages of their product development cycle. This allowed them to continuously validate and iterate on their often complex interactions.

3. Seamless Multi-Device & System Integration

ProtoPie’s application is not limited to a single screen. With 

, users can instantly test and experience their prototypes on any smartphone. 

takes this to a whole new level by enabling users to connect their prototypes with custom hardware, web embeds, APIs, and more. Customers like 

 to test their UX design using actual steering wheels and in-car infotainment systems.

To learn more about our enterprise feature, 

Once the design is validated, interactive prototypes help reduce ambiguity during the developer handoff. Engineers can see exactly how the design should behave, ensuring a smooth transition from design to development. With ProtoPie, 

collaborate seamlessly, reducing miscommunication and ensuring the final product matches the vision.

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, a prototype is worth a thousand meetings” - 

Shift-Left Prototyping in Action: How Meta Uses ProtoPie to Accelerate their Product Development Cycle

Meta, known for its vast scale and complex product offerings, faced the challenge of validating designs with realistic, high-fidelity prototypes early in the product development cycle. Traditional static mockups and simple prototypes weren’t enough to simulate the complex interactions and user behaviors Meta needed to test. To address this, Meta turned to ProtoPie, which enabled their teams to create high-fidelity, interactive prototypes that mimicked real-world interactions.

Meta was able to streamline the testing and iteration process by rapidly validating user flows. Using ProtoPie’s various Plug-Ins for solutions like Figma allowed Meta’s teams to seamlessly work across existing platforms without compromising fidelity.

Ultimately, Meta was able to implement the Shift-Left strategy effectively. By testing prototypes with real users earlier in the cycle and making data-driven decisions before development began, Meta greatly accelerated its product cycle while maintaining high quality and user-centered design.

For a deeper look into Meta’s journey with ProtoPie, check out 

The Future of Prototyping and the Shift-Left Strategy

As high-fidelity prototyping becomes the industry standard, more companies will leverage tools like ProtoPie to validate designs early, mitigate risks, and accelerate innovation. ProtoPie is already at the forefront, empowering teams to adopt the Shift-Left strategy while maintaining high-quality user experiences.

The rapid growth of ProtoPie’s user community highlights the power of early testing, proving that early-stage high-fidelity prototypes lead to faster, more cost-effective product development. The earlier you test, the better your product becomes. ProtoPie helps you turn ideas into user-tested solutions with confidence.

with our prototyping expert to learn how ProtoPie can enhance your Shift-Left strategy, and start prototyping today.

In this editorial, learn how ProtoPie’s high-fidelity prototyping solution can make your product development much faster and more efficient.

How to Shift-Left with High Fidelity Prototyping

Not all prototypes are created equal. Take low-fidelity versus high-fidelity prototypes, for example. While they’re both useful in their own ways, that doesn’t mean to say that they look or feel the same—or that they’re both equally valuable throughout all stages of the product development process.

In this post, we will explore the concept of fidelity in prototyping, highlighting the main differences between low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes and discussing when to use each type.

In prototyping, "fidelity" refers to the level of detail, accuracy, and realism of a prototype compared to the final product. Fidelity typically varies across three main levels: 

Often sketched or created with basic tools (e.g., wireframes).

Focus on basic structure and functionality, avoiding design details.

Useful for early-stage feedback and brainstorming.

Includes more accurate layouts, some interactivity, and basic UI elements.

Often created with digital prototyping tools, allowing for limited interaction.

Balances realism with flexibility, allowing quick iterations.

Useful for testing user flows and gaining feedback on specific interactions.

Highly detailed, with realistic UI elements, content, and interaction.

Mimics the final product as closely as possible, sometimes including animations and transitions.

Allows for accurate user testing and demonstration of final design.

Useful for validating design, usability, and functionality before development.

The choice of fidelity level depends on the design stage, feedback goals, and available resources. Low-fidelity prototypes are typically faster to create and more flexible, while high-fidelity prototypes are more similar to the final product but require more time and resources. In this article, we will explore the differences between these two types of prototypes.

Low-fidelity prototyping is a quick, simple way of evolving an initial idea or concept into a somewhat more tangible representation of your final product. The goal of a low-fidelity prototype is simply to outline the flow and to check the usefulness and usability of your proposed functionality. Lo-fi prototypes can either be made digitally or on paper. Examples include:

The key benefits of low-fidelity prototypes are that they are fast, easy, and affordable to create. It’s easy to make changes and test new iterations; anyone can produce them, and they encourage design thinking since the prototypes are clearly not finalized.

The downsides of low-fidelity prototypes are that they have limited interactivity, lack realism, are hard to use for user feedback, are sometimes too basic to reflect the user experience of the finished product, and can oversimplify complex issues. Most crucially, they require users to make their own assumptions when imagining how they would use the product (and what this experience will feel like.)

You want to quickly learn the scale of your project;

You want to test the idea first before you start development;

You keep the idea within the product team.

Let’s briefly examine the two main types of lo-fi prototypes: paper and click-through.

Paper prototypes might be the easiest, simplest way to create a lo-fi prototype—but that doesn’t mean to say that they aren’t valuable. Paper prototypes are great for fleshing out concepts while they’re still in their infancy. You can quickly scribble down a few sketches, see how they look, and get feedback. If something needs to be changed, you can literally go back to the drawing board.

Paper prototypes are quick to create and inexpensive, and some designers might even feel more creative when using pencil and paper. They’re also pretty rough and ready—meaning you can generally elicit more honest feedback from people who might otherwise feel hesitant about criticizing a fully formed digital prototype.

That said, paper prototypes aren’t suitable for the later stages of development. You can’t accurately recreate the digital experience on paper—so it certainly has its limitations. Plus, for many design teams, paper prototypes might just feel slightly unnecessary. If you’re going to be creating a digital prototype anyway, why even bother making a paper version?

Click-through prototypes take paper prototypes to the next level, allowing users to test the user flow in greater detail. In short, click-through prototyping tools let you upload photographs of paper prototypes—or digitally recreate them using interactive software widgets—into a UX design application.

For each screen the user sees, you can create multiple hotspots to redirect them to other screens. Imagine your first screen is a log-in page, but you want to demonstrate what happens once a user logs in. By clicking on the ‘login now’ button, the click-through prototype will take you to the next logical step/screen that the user would see.

Of course, click-through prototypes are still a long way off the final product. However, they do make up for one of the major drawbacks of paper prototyping: not being able to experience the user flow. They are, therefore, another useful lo-fi prototyping model that can be used in the early stages of product design.

If you want to make your own click-through prototypes, check out tools like 

High-fidelity prototypes are more advanced, with their aesthetics and functions far closer to that of the final product. You’ll typically create high-fidelity prototypes further along in the process once a team has a firm grasp of what they want the finished product to embody, using a tool like 

 to help you bring your vision to life. High-fidelity prototypes are generally used for 

 with real users or to get final design approval from stakeholders. Examples of high-fidelity prototypes include

The key benefits of high-fidelity prototypes are that they provide greater insight into what the end product will look like, are instrumental in testing and validating individual design decisions, and are great for getting buy-in from clients and stakeholders.

The downsides of high-fidelity prototypes are that they take longer to create, are costlier, and users may mistake the prototype for the finished product and form biases.

You want to start development before you decide on the “final” design;

You have a lo-fi that is tested and acceptable;

You want to take your lo-fi prototype to the next level;

You want to pitch the idea to a non-technical audience.

Let’s now dive into digital and coded prototypes in further detail.

If you’re creating a digital product/experience, then you’re eventually going to have to create a digital prototype. There are no two ways to do it. That’s where digital prototyping software, such as 

, comes in. It allows designers to recreate the end product in detail, producing aesthetically pleasing, interactive prototypes that are close representations of the final user interface.

Designers can demonstrate what their experience will look like and how it will feel, which provides product teams with invaluable feedback before they go ahead and launch their final product. However, they also take a fair amount of time and energy to create. So, for that reason, many product teams prefer quicker and easier alternatives (such as paper prototyping) earlier on throughout the design process.

Coded prototypes are the closest version to the final product that designers will produce, both in terms of how they look and behave. This means they’re great if you want to gather any last-user feedback before bringing a product to market.

However, not everybody can produce coded prototypes. To do so, you first need to code—which means that many designers cannot create these hi-fi, complex prototypes without asking for engineering help.

Making a hi-fi prototype isn’t as complicated as you might think. In fact, these days, you don’t even need to know how to code.

 that empowers designers to build highly interactive prototypes for all digital products. It integrates seamlessly with popular design tools like 

, allowing you to import all existing designs in just a few clicks.

With a smooth design workflow and a unique conceptual model that harnesses powerful 

, ProtoPie opens up limitless possibilities for crafting beautiful, functional prototypes—regardless of your skill level or experience.

, our free learning platform, and gain access to a wealth of resources crafted to elevate your prototyping skills.

ProtoPie offers high-fidelity prototyping with a low barrier to entry. Ready to get started? 

Explore the key differences between low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes to determine which best suits your design needs.

Low-Fidelity vs. High-Fidelity Prototyping: Key Differences Explained

The holidays are here, and what better way to celebrate than with festive prototypes? We’ve curated five ProtoPie creations that showcase the magic of interactive prototyping, perfect for adding a touch of seasonal cheer to your projects. From IoT integrations to smartwatch apps, these prototypes highlight the versatility of ProtoPie.

Each Pie is linked so you can explore and replicate these creative ideas firsthand. Let’s dive in!

🔍 4. Spot the difference – holiday edition

Transform your Christmas tree into the star of your holiday decorations with this smart home app prototype. Leveraging ProtoPie Connect for seamless software-hardware integration and enhanced with a festive sprinkle of Lottie animations, this prototype brings your tree to life in a way that stands out.

Lottie animations for extra festive cheer

Design personalized holiday cards with this creative mobile prototype. Drag, rotate, and pinch interactions make it intuitive and fun to create  designs for your loved ones.

Get into the holiday spirit with a unique calendar that unveils its surprises day by day. Using 3D "Fling" triggers and a "dateNow" formula, each door unlocks only on the corresponding day to reveal a delicious pie recipe, making it a delightful countdown to the Holidays.

"Fling" Trigger with a 3D Rotate response 

Conditions and "dateNow" formula to ensure each door opens on its corresponding day.

Challenge your attention to detail with this festive twist on a classic game. Using variables to track game progress, this interactive experience adds a fun and engaging element to the holidays.

Ring in the New Year with this stunning smartwatch prototype. The app features a real-time countdown that triggers a celebratory animation at midnight, making it perfect for your New Year’s Eve plans.

Time formulas like 'diffDate' and 'dateNow'


Lottie animations for a dazzling finale



These festive ProtoPie prototypes are just the beginning of what you can achieve with ProtoPie.

From IoT integrations to real-time interactions, each creation showcases the power of ProtoPie to bring ideas to life in a magical way.

Whether you're looking to inspire your next project or just want to explore some holiday creativity, these prototypes are the perfect place to start.

 Download ProtoPie today and make your designs sparkle!

Explore interactive holiday prototypes to add seasonal magic to your designs.

5 Holiday-Themed Prototype Ideas

Figma is a powerful tool used by designers of all skill levels. While it already comes packed with useful features to create beautiful, interactive designs, designers can take their workflow to the next level with plugins.

In this post, we'll explore the top Figma plugins that help designers like yourself save time and energy at every stage of the design process. It will include a summary of their features and benefits, instructions on how to use them, and our recommendations for which stage of the design workflow you can put it to best use.

Short of time? Check out the list of plugins below.

 - Best for turning your Figma designs into high-fidelity prototypes

 - Best for establishing simple user flows

 - Best for adding realistic interactions directly in Figma

 - Best for exporting compressed image files

 - Best for creating and customizing illustrations

 - Best for handling complex design systems

 - Best for mixing colors in your designs

 - Best for viewing designs in device mockups

 - Best for adding animations to your Figma designs

 - Best for adding sample text to your Figma designs

 - Best for adding images to your Figma designs

 - Best for adding graphics to your Figma designs

 - Best for converting images into vector layers

 - Best for adding a wide range of design assets to your Figma designs

 - Best for adding icons to your Figma designs

 - Best for removing backgrounds from photos on Figma

Figma plugins are applications that extend the functionality of Figma and FigJam. They enable users to perform a variety of actions beyond the core features of Figma.

Basically, these plugins provide additional tools, automation, and customization options, enhancing the design process and boosting productivity.

Figma's plugin library offers a wide range of plugins for different use cases, including design systems, design tokens, wireframing, resource collections, and more. Here are some of the most popular and powerful plugins out there.

Note that the featured plugins are listed in no particular order.

1. Wireframe - Best for creating wireframes quickly

The Wireframe plugin for Figma enables you to create wireframes, user flows, prototypes, and other basic structures for your designs without having to start from scratch. Complete with a free library including 350+ custom-built graphics for web and mobile, it is a great plugin for time-strapped designers. As an added benefit, you can also use the plugin while collaborating with co-workers in real-time.

Install the plugin from the Figma Community 

 and run it in your Figma design project.

Start dragging and dropping wireframes on Figma—that's it.

2. Illustrations - Best for free illustrations

Illustration Libraries for Figma is a free plugin that you can use to insert high-quality illustrations into your designs, all of which can be used freely under the Creative Commons license. No need to create illustrations from scratch to make your designs look good, just pick and choose from the library.

Scroll through the library or search for illustrations until you find one you like, then drag and drop them into your project.

3. ProtoPie - Best for turning your Figma designs into high-fidelity prototypes

 for Figma, you can easily export your designs to make interactive, high-fidelity prototypes that work and look just like the real product—something that is difficult to do with Figma alone.

 can help you take your prototypes to the next level with dynamic interactions like conditions, formulas, and variables. You can add text input, camera, voice, and media playback, or even create prototypes that communicate with each other—it's all possible.

First, make sure you have ProtoPie installed.

Open both ProtoPie and the ProtoPie plugin for Figma (install the plugin 

Select any frame or object and click on Export.

4. Pitchdeck Presentation Studio - Best for creating pitch decks

The Pitchdeck Presentation Studio plugin for Figma allows you to create presentations on Figma with ease, supporting animations and real-time previews within Figma itself. You can export your presentations to various file formats, including PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, and PDFs, and embed assets from Loom, Canva, Lottie, Spotify, and more.

For more details on how to use the plugin, check out the user guide 

5. Autoflow - Best for establishing simple user flows

Autoflow is a plugin for Figma that helps you quickly and easily make user flows, diagrams, and graphics in a hand-drawn or minimalist style. Create polished flowcharts quickly and easily with Autoflow's intelligent obstacle detection, text annotations, and custom path routing, among other features.

Select two objects by holding down Shift, and Autoflow will draw an arrow to connect them.

Free (up to 50 flows), $29 one-time payment for individual lifetime access.

6. ProtoPie Genie - Best for adding realistic interactions directly in Figma

  you can add realistic interactions directly to your Figma prototypes within seconds.
The plugin's interactions will elevate your Figma prototypes to new heights, enriching communication and enhancing user testing with unparalleled quality. 

In its beta release, the plugin currently empowers you to add interactive input fields to your prototypes. Stay tuned for more features coming soon!


Open the ProtoPie Genie plugin in your Figma project.


Select the Figma object to add an interaction, and add the interaction.


Select a Figma flow the interaction is included, and click the preview/publish button.


Try out the Figma prototype with the interactions added!

7. UIHUT - Best for finding design resources

UIHUT is a Figma plugin that provides a vast library of resources for individual designers and design teams, including access to thousands of UI kits, web templates, illustrations, 3D assets, and icons. With this plugin, you can boost your workflow and find components for every design need.

Discover the best Figma plugins to level up your design workflow.

20 Best Figma Plugins for Designers

Does affiliate marketing work for designers?

An affiliate program is performance-based marketing where individuals or businesses, known as affiliates, promote products or services on behalf of another company. The affiliates earn a commission for each successful referral or sale they generate through their marketing efforts.

Affiliate programs benefit all parties involved. The company gains exposure and pays only for successful results, while affiliates can earn income by leveraging their marketing skills and audience.

Being an affiliate can have many benefits for designers. We listed up only a couple of the advantages and perks below.

 Being an affiliate allows you to generate passive income by promoting relevant products or services and earning commissions on successful referrals.

 Affiliation with reputable programs fosters connections with like-minded individuals in the design community, encouraging knowledge-sharing and collaboration.

 Affiliates gain access to exclusive discounts, early product releases, and insider insights, enhancing their access to cutting-edge tools and industry trends.

 As you showcase your recommended products,  you can bolster your credibility and authority within the design community, potentially leading to more opportunities and recognition for your work.

Affiliate programs can offer designers a fantastic opportunity to boost your income and broaden your revenue streams. Basically, they can reduce the risks associated with relying solely on client projects or a single income source.

With a large selection of readily available services, you can choose affiliate programs that align with your work - your niche as a designer, and you can promote services and products you may already be using.

Editorial

Automotive UX Design with ProtoPie and RemotiveLabs

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