I totally agree. I didn't want to get too fancy with flaver text and whatnot because the cards and rules are constantly changing. I DID think it was important to get the layout of the cards though- I had a concept for that early.
You can probably see it in the pics- the information on the Programs are arranged in different corners (the main artwork in the game will be for the shows- right in the middle of the card. If I get my druthers, the border of the cards will look like old-school wooden Television boxes- the kind with the dials to change channels. Maybe with one broken off.)
The Programs will end up 3" x 4" while the rest of the cards are the same size as Magic cards (or some playing cards)- 2.5" x 3.5".
The ads have a border (blue highlighter right now) on the top and left edges. The Revenue in the corner and the ad categories (right now they're written out, but I imagine the final game will just have Ad Symbols) show when you slip the card behind the program (the border should protrude). The Ad Symbols line up with the Ad Symbols on the Programs for easy match checking.
Similarly, the Modifiers have a border (orange highlighter atm) along the bottom and right edges. The information that protrudes here is Additional Hit Numbers on the right (near where the hit numbers are on the Programs), and the Duration at the bottom (so you can easily access that info). For other info (like if you forget which modifier it is) I guess you have to just pick up the card or move it over to look. I don't see this being any different from Creature Enchantments in Magic, so I don't think it's a problem. Covering the cost (upper left corner) is ok because by the time it's in play that doesn't matter anymore.
Events with Durations have the Duration at the bottom, like Modifiers. and have costs in the upper left like Modifiers.
I think the information is well organized and I'm happy with how the presentation works at present. I'm getting an artist friend involved to start getting some artwork together. I also know a cartoonist and I plan to talk to him about the whole "make a picture then reduce it and print it small" process. In a perfect world I'll have my TV border with the artwork on the screen, 100% in the center, and gradually screened to maybe 50% at the edges so you can read the Symbols and Genres and Hit Numbers easily.
As for Hit Numbers, one thought was to have them on the dial (like channels)... either all 11 numbers there with only the 'active' ones highlighted, or something like that. trying to make it easy to swallow the Hit# mechanism.
As far as prototype quality, I generally sit somewhere in the middle; I design all my cards and boards on the computer, and usually scavenge components (dice, cubes, pawns, scoring tracks, money, etc) from other games I own. I find that this is actually less work for me, and makes changing the game systematically much easier. I also have horrible handwriting and poor art skills and so for me, it's almost not an option!
That said, I think it's time well-spent to make a high quality proto. Getting professional artwork is obviously overkill, but thinking carefully about the layout and presentation of information on your cards will make players able to understand the game better, and have more fun playing it. I generally try to get clip art from the web to enhance my designs. In a game I'll probably show next in the GDW, which is an archaeology game, I found some pictures of artifacts to put on my "artifact cards". This took a ton of time, however, the players in the one session I had really liked the visual presentation of the game, and that's a big part of the "hook" in getting people to enjoy the experience your game presents.
I don't think this necessarily needs to be done via computer; I played a hand-drawn prototype that was perfectly functional and worked well, but also looked nice. Yet, this guy wasn't Monet or something; the art was decent, but not great. What's most important is the functionality.
So, I think that writing stuff down on index cards is perfectly fine practice for a prototype, but I think it's really worth spending some time trying to present the game in the best way possible. You're asking people to give up some of their time to try something new and unproven; putting forth your best effort shows that you respect that investment of time that they're making.
-Jeff