Category — Prototyping Software

Many app designers use wireframe software to create prototypes of apps for tablets and smartphones. Some believe that using wireframe software fosters creativity. By creating a prototype with wireframe software, designers have the freedom to experiment with their ideas before the programming stage of development begins. Wireframe software can be particularly useful for designers who want to draft interface designs in a field where there are not many previous apps to take inspiration from. One new area that companies are investing in is ‘second screen apps’. What does this mean? While we may watch TV while browsing on our laptops or smartphones, companies want to gain our attention through both screens. Creating apps that enhance the viewing experience can be a way for advertisers to achieve this.

The trick is to create an app that viewers will enjoy, that will also not distract too much from the program they are watching. Wireframe software is being used by some developers to draft smartphone and tablet applications quickly and at reduced cost. An app designer could use wireframe software to create a prototype of an app that gives bonus information about the television show, or even draft a game that can be used to play along with a TV show. A social media app that enables viewers to comment on shows could also be something designers might want to draft with wireframe software. As this is a relatively new field, there is a wide potential for apps to create. With wireframe software, designers and other stakeholders can be creative in the apps that they draft, which can help lead to a product that viewers and advertisers will love.

The e-book market is growing and the demand for online newspapers and magazines with it. Users can access articles instantly, making them more appealing to people on the go. Many magazine and book publishers would like to tap into the app market, but creating apps for these products can be more difficult than it seems, due to the challenge of transforming a vast amount of content into one application. Many designers use prototyping software to sketch out wireframes for web and mobile applications and this can also be useful for applications that have a lot of text content.

One of the challenges of creating apps for newspapers and magazines is that it can be difficult to organize information in a way that seems logical to the reader. While a newspaper has different sections, such as current affairs, international affairs, sport and comment, it can be interesting to experiment with how the information within these sections is organized and whether some articles should feature in more than one category. The home page of a mobile app is also important and prototyping software can be used to sketch out where different content should be positioned. With many types of prototyping software, you can use different sized headlines and edit text. You can even add text boxes and images with many types of prototyping software. If you are thinking of transforming an existing magazine or newspaper to a mobile app, I would strongly recommend taking an existing edition of your magazine and using prototyping software to upload the existing images and headlines. Even if you decide to use image holders, rather than the images themselves, this will give you an idea of the structure of your final application. With prototyping software, you can create professional-looking wireframes that can help you visually structure the content of your application. You can then show these wireframes to end-users for feedback to ensure that your app meets the expectations of your users.

The Windows 7 phone and the iPhone are natural and fierce competitors in the technology market. Preference for either is usually tied to whether or not you are an avid PC user or a staunchly loyal Apple supporter, as it is with laptop and desktop computers.  Still, not all customers feel particularly attached to a brand and instead purchase products based on their compatibility as a user with the product’s features. One of the main reasons people use smartphones is because of their apps.  Mobile apps now rule the smartphone empire and if you are looking into purchasing either an iPhone or a Windows 7 phone but don’t know which to choose, then a good place to start is by comparing their app capabilities.

Both the iPhone and the Windows 7 phone offer users a variety of apps to choose from. Both have a consolidated place for users to find apps: the iPhone “App Store” and the Windows 7 “Marketplace”.  Users are able to purchase apps from these stores, both through their smartphone or computer.  So what is the main difference between the two?  The number of apps available and the user interface display.  Apple offers users a much more vast selection of apps in their store.  Additionally, the iPhone offers user the ability to use and manage their apps from both their phone and their computer—currently, Windows 7 apps are only available to users through the phone’s user interface.  Thus, the iPhone is better organized and more diverse.  However, this does not mean that the Windows 7 phone will not one day reach or surpass the iPhone in terms of app numbers and interfacing options.  The Windows 7 phone is much newer than the iPhone and this leaves it more room to grow and evolve.  So choosing between the two requires you to put your faith in the Windows 7 phone’s evolution or putting stock in the iPhone’s proven reputation. Or you can simply succumb to the epic Apple-Microsoft battle and pick a side.

A while ago, the iPod Touch, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Nano user interface designs were all subjected to a variety of tweaks by Apple, although the iPod Classic model was left as is.  The changes are meant to boost usability, intrigue new and old customers, and make the new generation of iPods more accesible than ever. Some of the new developments for each product include:

•    iPod Nano: Smaller size, added touch screen capability, lost camera.

•    iPod Shuffle: VoiceOver capacity in 25 different languages in addition to a larger size and smaller price; at $49 it is the cheapest iPod to date.

•   iPod Touch: Improved screen and battery life and a front-facing camera that allows users to make calls via Skype to iPhone 4 and other iPod Touch users.

At Pidoco we market our wireframes as interactive and living, so when I came across Will Evans’s article in UX Magazine entitled “Shades of Grey: Wireframes as Thinking Device” my interest was certainly peaked.  If wireframes are “living” devices then surely it isn’t a far stretch to claim that they are thinking devices too—wouldn’t thinking be a prerequisite for existence? Or maybe we should leave terms like “thinking” and “living” in the metaphorical realm because how can something as inorganic as a wireframe really be alive? Ok I took that a little too far and so for the sake of avoiding my woefully amateur philosophical musings, perhaps it is best if we take a look at some of the reasons why Evans believes wireframes help us “think” and then maybe we can draw our own conclusions as to whether or not a wireframe’s capacity to facilitate our “thinking” brings it to life in its own right.

Thinking with wireframes: they are more than just an inert tool

First and foremost Evans claims that wireframes are thinking devices because they are the setting “for the exploration of a given problem space” (UX Magazine). Evans asserts that UX designers often view the development process as purely problem solving rather than an explorative process that both poses and solves problems based on user contexts and needs.  “I use my sketches and wireframes as means to make explorative moves and assess the consequences of those moves” says Evans.  Thus, the wireframe is not just an artifact but really a framework that provides designers the space to think through and iterate their UI designs, simultaneously facilitating their problem solving and creative capacities.   By viewing the wireframe as a partner in a dynamic process instead of a static, inanimate tool, designers “will find they have the opportunity to more successfully create great user experiences.”

This take on wireframes being a kind collaborative partner in the user interface design and development process is compelling and brings a fresh outlook to the wireframing method as a whole.  If designers can learn to see wireframes in this new way then perhaps they will also feel more inspired in their work. After all new perspectives often engender reinvigorated creative flows and ideas and that is what a living thought process is all about.

With high speed internet and 3G connections, we have become so accustomed to the swift access of information that anything less than instantaneous is too slow. Perhaps nothing signifies our need for the rapid dissemination of information on the web better than Google’s new Instant Search.  As soon as users begin typing text into the Google search engine, live results will be displayed in real time.  Google claims this will save users at least 2 or 3 seconds per search because results will be provided before the inquiry is complete and users will not even have to hit the search button.

This new method of searching for information is predictive in nature which is on some level indicative of a loss of user control; results based on prediction put the power of selection into the hands of the user interface provider and not the user. The fact that Google selects search results before you have even finished typing (not to mention eliminates the finality of pushing the search button yourself) blurs the boundaries between user and interface in terms of who is in command. For a search engine this is harmless but as our insatiable need for speed and real-time activity barrels forward into the future, the concept of prediction will play a larger and larger role if interface designs continue to trend towards prophetic real-time features. How will this affect user attitudes and trends?  Will users give up autonomy in favor of speed?  Only time can answer these queries, but a good prediction is that whatever the future holds for real-time web capacities, Google will likely be on the cutting edge.

The implications for UX and usability design

If the media and advertising industry is digitalizing itself then obviously interface design concepts like usability, user experience design etc. will play a central role in the implementation of new digital business practices.  Companies will need online advertising and commerce to be as efficient as possible while maintaining an element of authenticity and desirability known from the traditional print environment.  Thus, the market for those specializing in UX and usability design will be wide open and full of opportunity.  This will likely lead to innovations in the UX and usability design fields as the cutthroat world of digital business will force designers to gain the competitive edge not just in creativity and productivity as usual, but also in measurable impact, such as online conversion rates.  Hence one may well argue that a growing digital media industry could mean a creative renaissance for the usability and UX industry as well.

Understanding the mind of the user is one of the most vitals aspects of web development.  Every interface design that is created is dependent upon users, without them, the site goes nowhere.  This is why the field of user experience (UX) plays such an important role in interface design.  UX is a profession (some may call it an art) that offers us the methods necessary to lead us towards a goal of satisfied users and optimal usability.

Maintaining a UX frame of mind

According to Joseph C Lawrence’s article “Five reasons why user experience thinking is essential” there are five important “UX mantras” that every designer should keep in mind when designing a user interface (as paraphrased below):

1.    UX design is about the users: Keeping the users at the center of your interface design will allow you to create websites and applications that aren’t just characterized by functionality, but also by individuality based on what users want and need beyond the structure of a site—sometimes a basic, functional structure is too boring.
2.    UX design requires testing: UX testing will help you learn not only how users interact with your site, but also how they want to interact with your site.  Thus, you will be able to analyze the feedback and make the changes necessary to infuse your interface design with individuality.
3.    UX design is psychological in nature: Websites are dynamic and intertwined with almost every interaction in our daily lives whether it is socializing, traveling, or shopping etc. Since the web is now such an integral part of the way people live personally and professionally, interface designs must now be more than a collection of pages and data—they must be designed understanding the psychology of what motivates people to perform the interactions facilitated by websites and applications.  UX design allows designers to gather this vital information.
4.    UX design is a harmonizing force: UX design can tie together all of the diverging goals of web users and designers in order to create a unique and usable interface design.  Understanding how users use an application and what users want gives designers and other stakeholders the information required so they can tailor their business goals and methods to the needs of the user without jeopardizing their own enterprise.
5.    UX design is an interdisciplinary method: The dynamic and integrated nature of today’s websites and apps requires web developers to understand not only computer software and programming but also an assortment of other fields: psychology, business, and marketing to name a few.  UX design transcends into all of these fields because users are human and humans are by nature interdisciplinary.

Using Lawrence’s “UX mantras” can help you keep your focus on the users which will ultimately distinguish your site from others that are similar, increasing your interface design’s popularity and success.  The better you understand your users and their needs, the more seamless the process of using your website or application becomes for them. This makes users happy and they will want to use your site above others because it is designed to understand what they want and respond to their needs.

The vast array of websites and applications created for similar purposes (i.e. amazon.com and Ebay are both eCommerce sites) force web designers to envision new ways of making their interface designs distinct to differentiate themselves; if a given user interface design is distinct then chances are users will pick that website or application above all others.  This is why UX design is quickly becoming one of the most important methods of development for web designers.  Web designers are learning that they need to approach their development process not just from a usability frame of mind, but also from a UX frame of mind. While usability is undoubtedly king of the interface design court, UX design is quickly becoming the king’s closest advisor because it gives designers the capacity to differentiate one similar interface design from another by responding to the exclusive needs and wants of the user.