Get clients to focus on what they should be focusing
Wireframes or prototyping are pretty much a skeleton to your mobile app. They’re a vital step in bringing together information architecture to design aspects in a two-dimensional manner. If you get this wrong, the design and functionality don’t stand a chance of success.
It is important that wireframes are kept simple, where the focus should be on the layout, navigational elements, and flow. This is why we use gray, black and white tones during this process. We also use generic fonts, where we show the hierarchy of content through font size and style (regular/italic/bold).
So why is it important for a designer to include wireframe in the process of creating a mobile app?
The first reason is that it’s the perfect method to get clients to focus on what they should be focusing – clients at times have an idea in mind – but wouldn’t have all the logic entirely mapped out in their head. These gray areas are what could bring down the entire project and wireframes are a great way to walk all stakeholders or decision makers through the entire structure and flow, without being distracted by how they don’t like an image or shade of a colour.
It’s the ideal tool to figure out flaws at an early stage. You might think that adding wireframing in the process would just add more time to the entire project – but in reality, it would make things more efficient. It is quicker to adjust functionality problems or structure at this stage rather than during design or development stage.
So which are the best tools for wireframing/prototyping?
There is no one tool that reigns supreme over another – it is more on what you want to achieve with the client during this stage. So you would need to understand the client’s level of grasping concepts – will the client understand a static blueprint or would it be easier if the client runs through an interactive prototype?
Based on the answers to these questions the right tool can be selected. Adobe Illustrator, Adobe XD, Balsamiq Mockups and Proto.io are just a few to list – oh and an actual pen and paper! Ok so pen and paper doesn’t allow you to make a prototype but why not get your ideas mapped out on paper first and then polish them up in software later?
