Reviews: Software Reviews

The UX design process kicks off with discovery activities such as contextual inquiry, user research, focus groups, stakeholder discussions, personas, scenarios, user journeys, and mind mapping, which establish a strong foundation for user requirements. Then, we start creating some quick-and-dirty paper prototypes and get stakeholders’ approval. Next, using the tool of our choice—for example, Axure, InVision, Balsamiq, UXPin, or Zeplin—we start creating interactive prototypes. After getting our interactive prototypes approved, we create high-fidelity designs using tools such as Photoshop or Illustrator. Finally, we hand off our designs to the developers.

UX professionals have really been struggling to find a single tool we can adopt for wireframing, prototyping, creating mockups, and development. Until 2010, designers relied heavily on Photoshop and Illustrator for creating high-fidelity designs. However, after the arrival of Sketch on the market in 2010, the equation changed completely. Read More

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed how Figma and Adobe XD took the world of prototyping and design by storm. There are already many design tools. Some make way for new tools with every passing year. The biggest battles between players in the design-tool game have targeted Mac users, while Windows users have had to wait. Mac users are uncompromising because they’ve had excellent software such as Sketch and Principle.

But in 2016, with the release of Figma and Adobe XD, Windows users finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. Now, Windows users can also use Figma or Adobe XD to create wireframes, prototypes, high-fidelity designs, and designs that are ready to hand off to developers. It is difficult to forecast which of these applications would be best for your prototyping and design needs.

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed pricing models, supported platforms, interactions, and some common features of these two applications. Now, in Part 2, I’ll look at more features of Figma and Adobe XD and attempt to decide which is the front-runner. Read More

Wireframes play an important role in both the design and development of mobile apps. As you make decisions about an app’s functionality and create wireframes to depict your design solutions, your wireframes pass through various stages.

Different UX design teams follow different approaches in creating mobile-app wireframes. Some may help you come through with flying colors, while others may lead to failure. In this article, I’ll describe eight important steps that can help a mobile-app design company to build best-in-class wireframes for their projects. So let’s begin.

Creating Mobile-App Wireframes: A Step-by-Step Guide

The overall process of creating a mobile-app wireframe comprises eight steps. Read More