UX for Beginners

Chapter 59. Learn Skills, Not Tools

One of the most common questions in UX is “What is the best wireframing tool?” But when you get good at wireframing, you will realize that the answer to that question is: the simplest one.

A lot of designers are surprised when I tell them that I use Adobe Illustrator, Sketch, and Apple Keynote to do wireframes (unless the project is really complex).

I have used Omnigraffle, Mockflow, Balsamiq, and a variety of other software options, which might or might not have been intended for wireframes, and to be honest, I think most of them are too complicated, most of the time.

Different Tools Work in Different Situations

If you’re making a very complex site with a lot of different content, like a giant, international corporate intranet for a company with tens of thousands of employees, then you might need a powerful tool.

But for most projects, those tools might be overkill.

I have designed entire social networks that are responsive, in a web-based drawing tool. I have designed iPad apps with six-figure budgets in Keynote. I have designed a website for a leading cable television channel, completely in Illustrator.

All without complaints.

My advice: find and use the simplest tool that can handle the project and make files that your team can share easily and cheaply.

They’re wireframes, not the Mona Lisa.

Design the Best Solution, Not the Solution the Tool Can Design

No matter what type of design you do, you should always make sure you are doing the design based on ...