Prototype Builder

Prototype builder

Come to meetings with the thing itself, not a deck about it. Build the smallest artifact that makes the idea judgeable.

Procedure

1. Load brand/ (voice, visual identity, tokens.json) and the relevant strategy/ context. On-brand prototypes get judged on the idea; off-brand ones get judged on the wrong fonts.
2. Create playgrounds/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>/ containing:
   • The prototype itself. Default form: a single self-contained HTML file (inline CSS, brand tokens applied, no build step, no CDN) that opens in any browser. An email sequence is one page showing each email in sequence; an ad board is one page of variants side by side.
   • A README.md: the one-sentence idea, what feedback is sought, and "disposable: decision goes to memory/decision-log.md".
3. Fake honestly. Placeholder metrics, imagery, and quotes are fine if you label them as fake in-context (e.g. "[illustrative]"). Never fabricate a real customer's endorsement.
4. After the meeting (when told the outcome): log the decision via log-decision, then move the prototype folder to playgrounds/_archive/.

Rules

• Never production: nothing in playgrounds/ ships, gets published, or gets linked externally.
• Speed beats polish, brand beats speed: rough is fine, off-voice is not.