Sketch UI

Improvements to Prototype Hotspot Hints

When sharing prototypes with stakeholders, clarity around what is and isn't interactive is essential.

Unlike the final product, not every element in a shared prototype will be wired into the user flow. Without clear visual guidance, viewers risk wasting time clicking on dead ends, losing focus, and losing confidence in the prototype itself. Hotspot hints serve as that guiding layer, steering stakeholders through the intended interactions efficiently and keeping feedback sessions productive.

Sketch recently expanded its prototyping capabilities to include nested scrolling, but the prototype player's existing hint system, designed to surface interactive click-throughs, was never updated to account for this new interaction type. Scroll interactions were effectively invisible to viewers, creating confusion and undermining the reliability of the prototype as a communication tool.

I diagnosed the root causes of this friction and redesigned the prototype player's UI to address them directly. The updated interface not only signals what a viewer can interact with, but clearly distinguishes between different types of interaction, so that scrollable regions are just as legible as clickable ones. The result is a leaner, more intuitive experience that respects both the stakeholder's time and the integrity of the prototype review process.