

Some might skip sketching and jump straight to wireframes. Many designers have different processes for how they work. Sketching Always Comes Before Wireframing As you finish wireframing, the interface concept should look more clear and refined. When you work in pixels, you can get more precise about how the user interface will work.

You’re also forced to think more thoroughly about all the elements on the page from top to bottom, not just the basics. The medium you’re working in forces you to think in higher detail, where sizing, placement and order of elements are all figured out. When you wireframe, you are trying to refine the concept of how the app will work using pixelated grayscale widgets. What matters most is understanding what the user will see on each screen that will lead them to the desired result. The specifics of the user interface aren’t important here. There is a lot of quick and dirty thinking that happens from pen to paper. But here you are trying to figure out what those ways are and which way works best. There are many ways you could craft an interface concept. When you sketch, you are trying to get a basic concept of how the app will work in user interface form. Both are useful for illustrating an interface concept, but a wireframe and a sketch are done in different mediums and produce different results. They are similar but they are not the same thing. Many designers mistakenly think a sketch is a wireframe. Sketching allows you to visualize the screen-to-screen interaction so that your idea is something that’s visible and clear in user interface form. You’ll be able to figure out how your app will work to get the desired result. Sketching takes your imaginative mind from the clouds to the user interface screen where you can start thinking about the user experience. You need to know what the user will see on each screen of your app to do X, Y and Z. It’s not enough to say, “I want an app that does X, Y and Z”. It all begins with an idea, but that idea needs user interface translation. Sketching out your idea before you build it is necessary for every designer to do.Įvery Idea Needs User Interface Translationĭesigning the user interface is a process. No matter how smart you are, It’s impossible to go from a simple idea in your head to immediately building it out without hashing out the details in between. Sketching happens in many professions that involve creativity and construction.Įven Leonardo Da Vinci had to sketch out his inventions before he started to build them. Have you ever had an idea for a website or application? It’s easy to come up with the idea, but the hard part is understanding how that idea will take shape in user interface form.
