Cardboard prototyping uses cardboard, foam board, tape, and other cheap craft materials to build physical models of products, spaces, or service touchpoints. It applies the paper prototyping philosophy to the third dimension: get something in the user's hands as quickly and cheaply as possible, even if it looks nothing like the finished product. The material constraints of cardboard force designers to focus on structure and interaction rather than aesthetics, which is exactly where the most important design questions lie at the early stages of physical product development.
Cardboard Prototyping
Building physical prototypes fast and cheap to test the right questions first
A
Designers Academy
21 October 2025 · 4 min read
DesignMethods
In brief
Cardboard prototyping uses inexpensive craft materials to quickly build three-dimensional models of products, spaces, or service touchpoints, allowing designers to test physical interactions and structural assumptions early in the development process.
