Before diving into code or high-fidelity designs, ASCII prototypes offer a uniquely powerful way to rapidly sketch ideas.
Using simple text characters to represent UI elements, flows, and layouts, you can iterate on product ideas at the speed of thought.
This lets you prototype ten ideas in 30 seconds and react emotionally to a design, much like a whiteboard sketch.
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Subscription Tracker │
├─────────────────────────────┤
│ [Upload CSV File] │
│ │
│ Total Subscriptions: $247 │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Netflix $15/mo │ │
│ │ Spotify $10/mo │ │
│ │ Adobe $52/mo │ │
│ └─────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ [Cancel Selected] │
└─────────────────────────────┘
User Decision Journey (Second Opinion App)
Time: 0min 5min 15min 30min 1hr
Emotion: 😟 ──→ 😰 ──→ 🤔 ──→ 😌 ──→ 😊
Steps: Stuck → Research → Overwhelm → Get advice → Decide
on options with too from expert with
choice much info confidence
┌──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐
│ [0-3s] │ [3-15s] │ [15-40s] │ [40-50s] │ [50-60s] │
│ HOOK │ SETUP │ SPIRAL │ REALIZATION │ CTA │
├──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ 😰 Anxious │ 🤔 Staring │ 🌀 Brain │ 💡 Moment │ 💬 "Which │
│ face │ at options │ overload │ of clarity │ one are │
│ │ │ │ │ you?" │
│ "Should I │ Pro/Con │ Imagining │ "Wait... │ │
│ or should │ lists │ every │ it doesn't │ "Follow if │
│ I not..." │ everywhere │ scenario │ matter │ you also │
│ │ │ │ that much" │ overthink" │
│ Text: │ "What if I │ Timeline │ Simple │ │
│ "IT'S BEEN │ choose │ spinning │ choice │ Poll: │
│ 3 DAYS 😭" │ wrong?" │ out of │ made ✨ │ A or B? │
│ │ │ control │ │ │
└──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘
3 sec 12 sec 25 sec 10 sec 10 sec
Music: [Anxious/chaotic → calm] | Hashtags: #overthinking #relatable #mentalhealth
Task Analysis: Planning a Weekly Date Night
┌──────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────┬─────────────┬──────────────┐
│ Task Step │ User Action │ System │ Pain Points │ Success │
│ │ │ Response │ │ Criteria │
├──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────┤
│ 1. Discover │ Land on landing │ Show value │ Unclear │ User │
│ service │ page │ prop + │ benefit │ understands │
│ │ │ CTA │ │ what it does │
├──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────┤
│ 2. Sign up │ Enter email + │ Validate │ Too many │ Account │
│ │ create account │ input, send │ fields │ created in │
│ │ │ confirmation │ │ < 30 seconds │
├──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────┤
│ 3. Set │ Choose day/ │ Store │ Decision │ Preferences │
│ preference│ time preference │ preferences │ fatigue │ saved │
│ │ for date nights │ │ │ │
├──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────┤
│ 4. Receive │ Check email/ │ Send weekly │ Forgot to │ Calendar │
│ reminder │ calendar │ calendar │ check email │ event added │
│ │ │ invite │ │ automatically│
├──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────┤
│ 5. Get │ Open reminder │ Show date │ Ideas feel │ Excited │
│ inspiratio│ notification │ night idea │ generic │ about the │
│ │ │ suggestion │ │ suggestion │
├──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────┤
│ 6. Go on │ Follow through │ (Optional) │ Lost │ Date night │
│ date │ with date plan │ Send follow- │ motivation │ happens │
│ │ │ up message │ │ │
├──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────┤
│ 7. Reflect │ Rate experience │ Store │ Forget to │ Feedback │
│ │ or share │ feedback, │ reflect │ captured │
│ │ feedback │ adjust recs │ │ │
└──────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────┴─────────────┴──────────────┘
Key Insights:
• Biggest friction: Steps 3 & 5 (decision fatigue + generic suggestions)
• Critical moment: Step 4 (if reminder fails, whole system fails)
• Delight opportunity: Step 5 (personalized, surprising ideas)