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Thanks to Pras for the pointer to Balsamiq’s Mockups application. I was sketching wireframes quickly within minutes of finding the product.
I believe in low-fidelity sketching at the wireframe stage. Balsamiq makes it easy with its large library of UI control stencils, its auto-complete driven keybroad stencil selection, on-screen snap-to alignment guides, a powerful inspector for precise control when rarely needed, and, more of all, a simplicity that makes it easy to start sketching or tweaking your mockup immediately.
The output is Balsamiq files, PGN or flattened image files, and XML. Because it exports XML it’s possible to use Balsamiq as a programmatic ingredient for downstream engineering systems and tools (such as partially automating the creation of detailed functional specifications, or using it as source for the automated building on the actual interface.
There is a rumor that they’ll be announcing clickable output files shortly, which might allow for the fast creation of clickable wireframes for usability testing (and other) needs.
I haven’t noticed, but it should be possible to customize what’s in the included UI Widget Library to a) take on a different visual skin; b) reflect new or fewer interface widget options.
All and all, I’m pretty intrigued. It seems there’s a market for consumer-friendly ways to design interfaces. Once more people catch on how to much fun we’re having, they’ll want a shot at designing and realizing all the apps they’re dreaming up, too!
I’d love to hear what you think of this approach. Have you tried it? Does it work for your teams”
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David Stamm September 9th, 2008 - 9:15 am
I emailed the Balsamiq developers about reskinning - the designers in my shop were very turned off my the default look & feel. I got a very polite response indicating that they were not even considering adding the ability to skin wireframes.
I’d be delighted to hear if the situation had changed. This is a potentially very useful tool.
Nate Koechley September 9th, 2008 - 1:37 pm
Hey David, thanks for the comment!
I recognize and share Balsamiq’s belief that using intentionally rough and casual “sketchy” elements allows collaborators, stakeholders, and users to focus on the features and flow rather than on their fondness or distaste for a particular visual design. That said, I think their visualization of elements is still too polarizing. I hope they make it possible to customize them in the future.
Further, there are some organizations wherein the visual language is fixed and consistent. If one is doing design work within an immutable environment, than this disconnect presents undue friction between the tool and the end result.
I think the tool may still be very useful for many uses and users. But this lack of customization — which seems technically very trivial to offer — definitely reduces the viability of the tool for many.
Tyler K September 10th, 2008 - 12:05 pm
Hey, thats a sweet tool. I’ve worked on one project using http://www.jumpchart.com/
It’s very basic for formatting general sections of the site, but its nice because it easily exports what essentially is a view directory for once you actually have to make it work.
Anyway, not nearly as comprehensive, but good for design folks to get an idea when they’re figuring out what content goes where.