For me a much better approach for working on wireframes, which I'd say this post is about, is Figma or Penpot.
How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
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Re: How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
#32Very neat article. Always interesting to see how people use spreadsheets.
Re: How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
#33Irrelevant but spreadsheets have always struck me as one of the most beautiful pieces of software that we use. Automatically updating calculations, programming logic complex anough for most ERPs, using it is a database, easy organisation of data, graphs -- it has it all. From both a user and developer perspective, they are one of the most diverse tools on a computer. MS may make terrible software sometimes, but damn…
Well, they're FP, in visual form. What's not to like?!
Re: How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
#34The overall effect of Figma is probably net-negative because people start futzing with the visual/aesthetic aspects of an interface instead of working out the functional aspect as you would in a low-fidelity/paper/wireframe prototype.
It seems the higher fidelity the designer has, the more weird one-off bug-prone things developers have to invent in order to match the requirements.
Re: How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
#35The overall effect of Figma is probably net-negative because people start futzing with the visual/aesthetic aspects of an interface instead of working out the functional aspect as you would in a low-fidelity/paper/wireframe prototype.
Wireframing and mocking are two different tasks. You can use Figma for both.
Esthetics are also an expression of functionality and maturity, better not be flippant about it.
Re: How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
#36Irrelevant but spreadsheets have always struck me as one of the most beautiful pieces of software that we use. Automatically updating calculations, programming logic complex anough for most ERPs, using it is a database, easy organisation of data, graphs -- it has it all. From both a user and developer perspective, they are one of the most diverse tools on a computer. MS may make terrible software sometimes, but damn…
Well, they're FP, in visual form. What's not to like?!
what a fun way to think about them, might get me over my long life hate of spreadsheets
Re: How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
#37Java called. Wants its GridBagLayout back. It says it might be patented and can probably litigate.
Re: How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
#38I have used spreadsheets for designing floor plans and building elevation etc. I used each cell to represent 3 inch by 3 inch area. In more detail views I used each cell for a square inch area. Spreadsheets (specifically Excel) are the most general-purpose end-user software I have ever seen. I saw people using it for art/painting. Someone used it for demonstrating graphics shaders and ray-tracing.
My favorite tool for that kind of precision work is OmniGraffle. It can create label sheets and technical drawings with ease.
The page [0] doesn't show it, but it can draw with millimeter precision for technical drawings.
Re: How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
#39I have used spreadsheets for designing floor plans and building elevation etc. I used each cell to represent 3 inch by 3 inch area. In more detail views I used each cell for a square inch area. Spreadsheets (specifically Excel) are the most general-purpose end-user software I have ever seen. I saw people using it for art/painting. Someone used it for demonstrating graphics shaders and ray-tracing.
I've used it for designing never ending platformer game.
An excel file determines zones where the next platform can be generated relative to the end of the current one.
Blue cell is the current platforms end, green cells are easy places to jump to, yellow medium, red are hard.
Makes it very easy to adjust difficulty. Want hard mode harder? Reduce the amount of red squares to only the hardest jumps. Want it easier? Colour some of the yellows in red. Etc.
Re: How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
#40~2008 a friend at a consulting co. showed me how they drafted UIs in Excel. Having seen that, in 2015 I began working on a UI drafting software for that kind of technical designers. We ended up getting rid of the layout thinking overhead while drafting. They call it Content-First Design. If you'd like to try it it's free: https://uxtly.com
OP here. This is really cool! For my use cases it is missing the ability to easily expand/contract the working grid area, which is done with spreadsheets by adding/removing columns. So perhaps it is slightly too high fidelity for me? Definitely something I'll try out next time to find out!