Design files fool everyone: Why early prototyping matters

Here’s the truth about the process of creating digital experiences: you can’t see all the pitfalls in the design file. Worse, too often they’re found much later when real people use your site or app — and when fixing them is a lot more expensive. The truth is, great design can be filled with UX challenges that can’t be spotted until it’s in the hands of an objective reviewer.

At Shiny, we help our Clients avoid that trap by prototyping early and often. It’s one of the clearest ways to stay ruthlessly customer centric — and ultimately to create experiences that deliver audacious results.

Flat designs fool everyone

When you review a static comp, it’s easy to believe the flow makes sense. You fill in the blanks in your mind, imagining it all working perfectly.

But users? They’re not filling in blanks. They’re clicking, hesitating, getting confused, backing out.

That’s why an interactive prototype — even a rough one — is so critical. It forces real-world interaction. It exposes weak spots you can’t see in Figma or a PowerPoint deck.

And in financial services, where 46% of digital-channel users encounter at least one problem — like confusing layouts or unhelpful chatbots — waiting until launch to catch those problems is playing with fire. (That stat is from our proprietary 2024 Finsights study of US adults. You can get the full report here.)

One of the biggest risks in financial services UX is designing in a vacuum. You can’t rely on internal teams alone to spot issues because they already know too much about how the experience is supposed to work. Prototypes solve for that. They aren’t about perfection, they’re about pressure-testing your assumptions.

Why early prototyping matters more than ever

In financial services, it’s tempting to assume:
– You audience is patient
– People read all the fine print
– Customers understand industry jargon

Early prototyping exposes those assumptions head-on. Prototyping in the early stages of a project lets you:
– See if users naturally understand the flow
– Catch unnecessary friction points early
– Validate language, CTA placement, and navigation intuitiveness
– Surface hidden barriers to completion

When we’re in the prototyping phase we’re looking to learn things like:
– Does this interaction make sense to someone who’s new to the category?
– Are we guiding the user or overwhelming them?
– Is every screen ruthlessly focused on moving them forward, not just looking pretty?

Getting answers to these questions early in the project ultimately saves time, budget, and — most importantly — credibility with your audience. It’s how to create experiences that work for both the customer and the business. Ultimately, that learning enables you to meet people where they are — whether confused, busy, or distracted — and design experiences that help, not hinder.

What to do now

If you’re not already prototyping at the concept stage, start. Even simple click-able documents can reveal massive improvements. They enable you to ask hard questions early, test everything you assume is obvious, and ultimately forces reality checks of how well it works, not just how good it looks.

Because in today’s world, financial brands that wait to catch mistakes until after launch don’t just look behind the times. They look irrelevant.