First things first, what is a wireframe? Wireframe: A basic visual guide used in interface design, to suggest the structure of an interface and relationships between its pages. Think of it as a detailed blueprint of a building, showing things such as fire escapes, rooms, and layout.
Wireframes over time have become the starting point for pretty much any custom website design/interface I make. There are many different options when it comes to making wireframes. You can use wireframe programs, mock them up in Photoshop, etc. the list goes on and on. But I find the best, and fastest way to get things done is to draw it out with a good old pencil and paper. With pencil and paper you can quickly make changes, write down notes and things along these lines. It’s both fast and easy.
More Approaches to Problem Solving and Added Teamwork
Since you’re using a pencil and paper drawing out a quick wireframe only takes a matter of minutes. This allows for you to spend more time solving any problems the website once had. It also allows you to create more than just one idea/layout so you can create something that doesn’t just work, but works great. This will save you a lot of time down the road. Tweaking a few things with a pencil and paper sure is easier and faster than changing the full comp production.
When it comes to problem solving two heads (or more!) are better than one. When doing a quick pencil and paper wireframe bring together the designer, developer, project manager and whoever else is involved in the project, to wireframe key functionality. Everyone will be on the same page and working as a team. Things like functionality constraints will be noticed right away, and not when trying to implement the design into a live environment.
Added Transparency to Communication
Because wireframes are visual it is much easier to grasp what is being proposed. Now a developer can warn us about functionality being promised that is difficult or impossible to pull-off. Or something in the wireframe that may be missed if buried in an email thread or functional specification that only one person received.
Added Transparency on the Clients Side
Let’s face it, using gray box models eliminates the distraction of an element’s visual treatment. When reviewing a page layout for the first time, it’s very easy for the client’s opinion of the page to be influenced by the graphical design and colors. For example let’s say structurally you have created a layout that solves problems and works great but the design is way off. The client dislikes the colors and overall appearance of the site without even looking at the layout. You will be asked to start over and your great structural design is wasted, and now you are back at square one. A stripped down wireframe will let you get important feedback on sizing, layout and placement without your client getting hung up on the colors, or graphical style of the website. A client, who has seen a wireframe and has been given the opportunity to provide feedback, is more likely to sign off the final design.
You also won’t get the question “what language is this text in? We speak English”…until later at least (Lorem Ipsum).
Conclusion
Although wireframing this way takes a small investment of time and money by yourself and your staff. In the end you will save a ton of time and money.
To sum it up:
- The client has seen the wireframes and is more likely to give sign off on the final design. This greatly reduces the back and forth changes to get it polished, increased design costs, and timelines.
- Your developer has been involved throughout the wireframe process and will not be surprised with any crazy functionality requirements that will increase development time, or alter the already approved design. Again increasing costs, and blowing timelines.
- Improves teamwork and communication with your team, and the client.
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