Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#11

Post by mrgreenfur » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 4:44 PM UTC

userium wrote: post #6

I have used Mockingbird ( https://gomockingbird.com/ ) and Balsamiq ( http://www.balsamiq.com/ ) in the past. Currently I like to use Omnigraffle pro ( http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnigraffle/ ).

I use and adore Omnigraffle. It is hands down the best diagraming software I've ever seen.

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#12

Post by ajaxguy » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 5:48 PM UTC

new kid on the block : webflow.com I haven't tried this yet.

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#13

Post by ereckers » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 5:55 PM UTC

I use Balsamiq (which is great and I would highly recommend) as well as a simple yellow Tops notepad.

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#14

Post by chris_mahan » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 6:00 PM UTC

Pen and paper. If I need to have an electronic version, I take a picture with my 8 megapixels phone camera and I email it.

It's the fastest tool, but it does require knowing how to draw straight lines.

It also leaves management under no illusion that the thing is "almost done".

I work at a company in the top 15 of the Fortune 500.

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#15

Post by michaelbuddy » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 6:50 PM UTC

Axure is a good tool. Really easy to get up to speed and small niceties that keep things quickly moving. I like it better than the Free 'Pencil' software because you can mockup dropdowns really easy. You can also change the fidelity of the mockup so it looks like hand drawn. Seems gimmicky but people sometimes need it to be hammered into them that it's a wireframe.

When you export, you can export to a working clickable mockup with notes and things on it. I've felt pretty darn productive with Axure and that's why I recommend it.

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#16

Post by meerita » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 7:16 PM UTC

Adobe Illustrator all the way.

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#17

Post by rbargagli » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 7:26 PM UTC

We use InvisionApp (http://www.invisionapp.com/)

You transform designs into beautiful, interactive web & mobile mockups and you can receive feedback and collaboration in real time inside the mockups

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#18

Post by offdrey » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 8:08 PM UTC

Thank you everyone for the feedback. So far I really enjoyed using balsamiq. I like how simple it is.

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#19

Post by aespinoza » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 8:44 PM UTC

chris_mahan wrote: post #14

Pen and paper. If I need to have an electronic version, I take a picture with my 8 megapixels phone camera and I email it. It's the fastest tool, but it does require knowing how to draw straight lines. It also leaves management under no illusion that the thing is "almost done". I work at a company in the top 15 of the Fortune 500.

I agree to a certain extent. I still use my notebook to create mock ups, but nothing beats balsamiq's demo-ability. The fact that you can take a mock up and make it interactive, and show the real flow is amazing. I have taken our mock ups done in balsamiq to design meetings, and it makes it extremely easy.

Re: Ask HN: what tools do you use for UI mockups?

#20

Post by inokon » Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 8:48 PM UTC

Hi, I have been looking at fluidui which is purported to be faster than paper for web apps. I like it because you the UI is drag and drop. You can zoomout and just make a thumbnail view or zoom in and detail each page. I like invisionapp for stiching together your paper or illustrator sketches with hotspots and an easy to email url that invites you to bookmark the app. I bought Balsalmiq because it was so dang satisfying but I find my workflow is not awesome because I can't play with it easily on my phone.

Right now I just bought a $4 pad of news print from BLICK. It's cheap and I can use it on the airplane which is where I'll be tomorrow. HTH!