Tuesday 20 March 2012

A UI Prototyping Tool that Changes the Designer Client Relationship



The life of a designer is a constant process of revision and design. The cycle is repeated over and over; create design wireframes, interlink and demonstrate the prototype for a client, receive feedback and revise or restart from scratch. This process can take ages and is limited by the tools available to the designer. It's easy to see why a new ui prototyping tool could change the equation.


ui prototyping tool
There's a new tool just recently released that addresses this very problem. It's designed for designers from the ground up. It's geared specifically to help mobile application and web designers create exceptionally realistic prototypes of the finished product. These prototypes look and feel like the real thing, complete with clickable interfaces. This allows clients to do more than simulate action using wireframe mockups -- they can actually experience what the final product would be like. This new tool even includes messaging capability, so designers and clients can communicate in real time as they use the prototype. This new tool is InVision.

This means of communication reduces costs effectively. It eliminates text documents, e-mails and phone conversations that take the specificity out of feedback. With the project in front of both parties, communication can be clearer than it's ever been before.
With InVision’s ui prototyping tool, designers can create these prototypes without writing a single line of code. No longer do designers have to write tedious code just to create mockups of the final product -- code that is wasted in the long run. This saves time and allows companies to assign fewer people to the project.

Combining these two factors allows the tool to greatly improve the interaction between designers and clients. It reduces the number of iterations of the feedback cycle by allowing real time communication. Designers don't waste time in rewriting code for new prototypes. They just interact with the project currently open.
The best part is, InVision’s ui prototyping tool , interacts directly with the tools designers already use, like Adobe products and design studios. Designers are used to working in Photoshop, Fireworks or Illustrator -- common tools of the trade. With this new prototyping tool, these designers can continue using the same suite of software for the entire project. No learning new software just for prototypes. No tedious coding in an arbitrary programming language. Just a simple transition from program to program using the same data.

As a designer, there's no better tool available for ui prototyping. It's simple, it's effective, and it eliminates large amounts of time and stress from the design process. It's a benefit to all involved, and truly does change the client-designer relationship.

No comments:

Post a Comment