Great Tools - Why we love BALSAMIQ and you should too!!

" Pictures paint a thousand words " 

Perceptions matter a lot in business , a visiting customer is bound to judge a company by the look of the office and the interior aesthetics.
Similarly an online customer will judge a web company by the look & feel of their website.
How they perceive you is likely to be influenced quite significantly by the quality of your UI and the overall user experience of your online property.

Hence User Interface Thinking becomes a key aspect of any website.

How do we do it ?

Website Wireframe, also known as a page schematic or screen blueprint, is a visual guide that represents the skeletal framework of a website.Its has become an essential part of any software development exercise and is a beautiful combination of human art & visual science.

Three Acts of Wireframe Design 

Like every play has various acts , wireframe is also a form of art with various acts. Success of each act is important for the following act and overall success of the wirreframe.

• Information Design - presentation—placement and prioritization of information
• Navigation Design -  set of screen elements that allow the user to move page to page through a website
• Interface Design - selecting and arranging interface elements to enable users to interact with the functionality of the system

Most wireframing tools solve one of these acts beautifully but most miss the resonance of these three acts.

Enter -  BALSAMIQ Mockups

Wonders you can do with BALSAMIQ

BALSAMIQ Mockups are affordable easy-to-use software with drag-and-drop graphical user interface widgets to rapidly build screen design wireframes. Based on Adobe AIR & are platform independent.

Some Key Features

• ExportDrag and Drop for Simplicity
• Easy manipulation & configuration
• Export to PNG or PDF
• Click-Through Prototypes
• Quickly assemble a screen
• Collaborate and critique
• Link between screens
• iPhone application design
• Full Keyboard Support
• Mac, Windows, and Linux

& my favorite - Works Offline and has Reusable Symbol Library.

It's one the best available tools for rapid prototyping and screen design.It solves all the three acts with its interactive and visually rich tools and techniques.

Why we love it 

• Quick and easy to learn how to use
• Click and drag pre-made elements
• Necessary layout elements for a quick mockup
• Easy editing tools
• Easy shortcuts for faster editing
• Import actual images
• Automatic guides
• Comment, arrow, and other labeling tools
• Save to PNG/XML

Few Issues

• Need to have more important customisable layout elements.
• The properties window is a bit irritating that pops up with every element.
• Bit more coloring can be useful to distinguish tools.

In the world of complexity BALSAMIQ Mockups is like a fresh breath of air and has become the sweetheart of countless designers around the world.Its one of the most interesting things that has happened in the world of Visual Design in recent times.

Go check out BALSAMIQ Mockups and fall in love !!
We have already....