What differentiates medium fidelity prototypes from other types?

Medium fidelity prototypes serve a crucial role in the design process by providing a balance between low-fidelity sketches and high-fidelity, pixel-perfect designs. They combine enough detail and interaction to allow for meaningful user testing and feedback while not being fully polished. This level of fidelity enables designers to focus on user experience and functionality rather than getting bogged down in specific visual details.

By utilizing more defined layouts, interaction elements, and some degree of visual hierarchy, medium fidelity prototypes allow stakeholders to understand and engage with the overall flow and usability of the design. This helps in assessing how effectively the design meets user needs and in facilitating iterative improvements based on user insights.

This contrasts with the other options: pixel-perfect designs would indicate a high-fidelity approach focused on aesthetic details, while the lowest quality would refer to low-fidelity prototypes that lack adequate detail for comprehensive usability testing. Additionally, the notion of being restricted to internal use does not accurately describe medium fidelity prototypes, as they are often employed for gathering external feedback from users as well.