O PROCESSO DE PROTOTIPAÇÃO NO CONTEXTO DO LIVRO DIGITAL DE TERCEIRA GERAÇÃO

The advance of computer technology and new media transformed the way to publish, product and distribute books. The e-books rise in this context (they are also known as digital books or electronic books) and this study divided them in three generations, being the 3rd generation an interactive system and user interface system. In Brazil, the production and sale of ebooks is growing, however, they are still largely unknown, especially in relation to its resources. So, we asked how to develop a prototype process of e-books, aiming for greater involvement of the public reader? To answer this question, we assume that the interaction design field has a set of knowledge, methods and techniques – such as the use of prototypes – that include the participation of users and can identify their needs and interests. Therefore, the aim of this master thesis was to describe a prototype process of e-books, showing the potential of this media and the involvement of the public reader. To achieve this goal, it performed a paper prototyping workshop of a possible digital edition of a printed book, which involved a group of readers and the author of the book. After the analysis of the paper prototypes generated, other two digital prototypes were developed (A and B) and evaluated by the readers and the author, during interaction assays. The results led to the construction of a summary table of the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques and a visual scheme that wished to represent a general prototyping process of 3rd generation e-book. It was concluded, among other contributions, that the process of prototyping adopted allowed to know the reader, their needs and expectations, to awaken the interest in interactive features of the ebook, to propose creative solutions to media and interactivity in relation to the type of narrative approach and to list new requirements to improve the e-book by the public's perspective involved in the process.