A Brief Taxonomy of Prototypes for the Digital Humanities

In principle and inpractice, the use of prototypes in the companion “interdisciplines” ofdesign and the digital humanities is perhaps surprisingly similar, giventhe many other differences that exist between the two fields. However, inboth cases there are important distinctions to be made between variouscategories of prototypes. In general, there are three categories ofprototype, which are intended for experiment, development, and provocationrespectively. Although it might be argued that the overlap between thesethree groups renders them useless, if they are construed correctly, itbecomes clear that the distinctions are not only meaningful, but can alsobe suggestive of new methods of working.