Tuesday, May 12, 2009

REVIEW: Balsamiq Mockups

Very rarely have I successfully used a tool to prototype a GUI. If it looks like a computer program with the standard menus and buttons, people expect it to be a functional computer program. Very few customers are sophisticated enough to understand the distinction between a functional program and a non-functional prototype that looks like a finished program.

Balsamiq Mockup changes the rules of the game. This easy to use tool allows me to quickly create an interface (like one would in a GUI builder) and at the end I have a series of what looks like hand drawings instead of what looks like a finished computer program. It runs on Adobe AIR so I can use it on my Mac and my PC (when I have to) seamlessly and I have the same great functionality on both platforms. I have never had an issue with it to date and it just works.

I am using Balsamiq Mockup for my non-profit work on the Feed The Need redesign (this link is to the original version - new version is in progress) and have been able to communicate design issues and decisions better than ever before. I am excited about the product and dream of the day when all GUI designers use something like this first to make the first design models. I know I will use this for all the design work I do in the future.

1 comment:

John Duncan said...

Nice. I will check it out.