![]() While they’re unquestionably powerful and rich working environments, they come with a learning curve and a price tag that will deter some. These tools generally set loftier goals, aiming to produce full working prototypes rather than just static, linked graphics. If you’re a dab hand with pen and paper, this is a nice way to impress both clients and that special someone.įinally, there are the information architects and UX designers, who often prefer specialized wireframing tools like iRise and Axure. Then there are those who hand draw their beautiful wireframes, often referred to in the industry as show-offs. No argument that these are good options as they’re cheap and draw on the software skills you’ve taken years to hone. Many of us stick with the tools we already know best - Fireworks, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Talking to other front-end people, there seems to be three basic schools of thought. You can download Balsamiq Mockups free here.Wireframing is an essential part of the web design process in 2009, but it’s an area where no one tool has yet come to dominate. With Balsamiq Mockups, it takes only a few minutes to create high quality web page mockups, so you can focus on your real work, rather than spending all your time drawing on a whiteboard. The inserted objects can be customized in various ways.Ī manual drawing tool would be a welcome addition. It places a large number of predefined elements at your disposal and you only need to insert them in your project. The software allows you to create wireframes or sketches faster and easier. What's more, you can work on several sketches, on separate tabs and export everything in a single run. Balsamiq Mockups will export only your sketch, without the canvas around it. When your work is complete, you can save your project or export it in PNG or PDF format. The software allows you to switch between different view modes and display your project as a sketch or a wireframe. It is also possible to change font settings, background and text colors, adjust the text row height, place the selected element on a different layer, enable and move scroll bars for windows and more. For example, if you insert a list and add several text lines, you can insert web links for each line, on the properties window. The most important part is that Balsamiq Mockups displays a properties window for the selected items, on which you can make various adjustments and specifications. Windows, message boxes, lists or other items with text can be double clicked, to edit their contained text. The available elements are neatly categorized, on separate tabs and you can also use a search function to locate specific items instantly. All you have to do is click and drag these items to a blank canvas, in the larger area of the interface, where you can move and resize them however you want. Balsamiq Mockups provides a wide range of sketches, like browser windows, embedded players, buttons, message windows and much more. The user interface has a clean layout, so you can spot the tools you need right away. Balsamiq Mockups doesn't ask for any additional tools and its hardware requirements are modest. It is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms and it can be installed in no time. The software is free to try for a limited period of time, but without any functionality restrictions. The software's controls are very easy to understand and it doesn't take more than a few minutes to create your sketches. ![]() You can revise your designs without any effort, to come up with newer and better ideas. It gives you the possibility of creating web page mockups faster and easier. ![]() If you prefer to start working on your website right away, rather than spending your time drawing on a whiteboard, then you should use Balsamiq Mockups. A wireframe mockup can make it much easier to build a website from the ground up, but the process can take up valuable time. ![]()
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