SydDT #125: From Assumption to Evidence: Prototyping at the Right Fidelity

Learn when to sketch vs. when to polish from a designer who's prototyped across healthcare, mixed reality and two decades of tech.

Gordon Burnett has spent two decades prototyping across healthcare, mixed reality and everything in between, and he's learned something most people skip over: the fidelity of your prototype should match what you're actually trying to learn. Too polished early on and you've locked in assumptions. Too rough when it matters and you've lost stakeholder confidence. This SydDT session walks through real methods and case studies, from quick sketches to 3D printing and AI-assisted prototyping, showing how to use fidelity as a deliberate decision-making tool rather than an accident. Expect conversation with the design thinking community, plenty of questions, and a clearer sense of when to sketch versus when to invest in something more substantial.