Tough silence hangs over the review meeting. The developer devotedly presents the function of a new, long-awaited feature - the only perceptible reaction is a subtle nod of heads. All of a sudden, the group of stakeholders present starts to move: Is the new button there actually turquoise? And does the menu icon show three dots next to each other or are they stacked lines?
Turquoise or purple, meatball or burger? - When it comes to the user interface, everyone in the room has an opinion. This can lead to discussions that get out of hand and prevent rapid progress. Yet the UI is so much more than a collection of colourful buttons and icons. It is the basis for a pleasant, intuitive user experience and thus determines the success or failure of a digital product. How do you manage to focus on the concept without getting lost in details?
The answer is: Create a wireframe
This crucial step offers your stakeholder a visual representation of ideas without distracting them with superficialities. This helps them to understand the product's structure and functionality before investing heavily in design or development. Benefits for your product are:
Focus on functionality: Wireframes visualise core functionality and user flows, ensuring that the product is intuitive and easy to use. That’s a tangible basis for informed decisions about features, priorities, and resource allocation.
Shared understanding: Wireframes serve as a common language for designers, developers, and stakeholders, fostering better communication and collaboration. By aligning on the wireframe, everyone involved can work towards a shared vision for the product.
Early user feedback: By showing wireframes to potential users, you can gather valuable feedback on navigation, overall usability and rough layout. This helps you refine the design before committing to more detailed elements. With this foundation you prevent design inconsistencies and improve the overall user experience.
Reduced development costs: By catching potential problems early in the development process, you can avoid costly rework later on. Furthermore your wireframes helps you allocate resources effectively by providing a clear understanding of the scope and complexity of the project.
How much wire in my frame?
Simplification is the key. That is why a wireframe should contain as little as possible and as much as necessary. That means:
Layout and Structure: ⚠️ Remember: The more elaborate your layout is, the greater the risk of getting lost in the details
Page layout: The overall arrangement of elements on the page.
Grid system: The underlying framework that guides the placement of elements.
Hierarchy: The visual importance of different elements, determined by size, position, and colour.
Navigation:
Menu bars and drop-down menus: Ways to navigate between different pages or sections.
Breadcrumbs: A trail of links that shows the user's current location within the site.
Search bar: A tool for users to find specific content.
Interactions:
Buttons and links: Elements that trigger actions or navigate to other pages.
Forms: Fields for users to input information.
Tooltips and pop-ups: Additional information or context provided on hover or click.
Content Hierarchy:
Headings and subheadings: The titles and subtitles that organise the content.
Text: The main body of text, including paragraphs, lists, and labels.
Images and graphics: Visual elements that enhance the content.
Placeholders:
Text boxes: Empty boxes that will be filled with content later.
Image placeholders: Rectangles or squares that indicate where images will be placed.
Digital wireframe or paper prototype?
There are a lot of popular digital tools to create wireframes, like Figma, Balsamiq, Miro or Sketch. They make work much easier when it comes to producing close–to-reality or interactive wireframes in which user activities can be simulated on screen. With an elaborated click dummy, stakeholders get the feeling of having a functioning application in front of them. And this is precisely where the danger lies: no matter how often you emphasise that it's all about functionality, even a rudimentary design is a distraction.
In an early stage of the product development process a wireframe created with pen and paper might be the better alternative:
Low-fidelity: Paper prototypes are intentionally low-fidelity, focusing on user experience, core functionality and rough layout. This allows for rapid iteration, more spontaneous changes and experimentation, fostering creativity and innovation.
Accessibility: Paper prototypes don't require specialised software or hardware, making them accessible to a wider range of stakeholders. And they are generally less expensive than using digital tools, especially for early-stage testing.
Tangible Experience: Physical prototypes provide a tangible experience that can be easier for users to interact with and provide feedback on. I have tested a product with a paper prototype (created by Moritz Mader) and I am always impressed by how much fun it is for the users to touch the drawn buttons to move to the next screen.
Whether on paper or on screen, wireframes provide a clear and concise representation of the user interface with everything that goes with it. This makes it easier for you and your stakeholders to discuss basic concepts first and save the buttons and icons for later.
In our next episode, we will give you tips on what you need to do to create a successful wireframe. Don't miss it!
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