What is the best tool to draw an idea?

Question

I have one twitter based idea which I have put in words. But I would like to have a prototype which contains screens and will show how exactly the homepage, other pages will look like. Basically it should explain the complete flow of the application. What is the best and easiest tool to do that?

Answer 1

I would start with pencil-and-paper sketches. Really, using a computer to prototype a design isn't a good long-term strategy. The computer designs look "so nice" that it's easy to fall into a trap of thinking that they are no longer prototypes. If you show the designs to a prospective developer or investor, they may think that drawings are "finished," despite your protests to the contrary.

Once you've got some sketches down, make mockups using paper cutouts that you can move around, recolor and resize easily. Do your usability testing with these mockups -- try it out on four or five people and listen to their feedback. Any changes they suggest will be easy to implement: just cut out some new pieces of paper.

Before you begin, read Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability.

Answer 2

You could use Balsamiq Mockups, an web/desktop application for creating mockup screens which look like they were drawn on paper.

We know it: most people prefer to use pen and paper or a whiteboard to make software mockups because “it’s the fastest way”.

Well, if you count the time it takes to transfer the mockup from paper to a digital image, we think Balsamiq Mockups is faster, not to mention much easier and, dare we say it, more fun!

We optimized the user interface for speed: fewer buttons, more keyboard commands, full undo/redo, object snapping...you name it.

Answer 3

Paper and pen.

That's exactly how Twitter itself started.

Answer 4

If you have or can get Microsoft Expression Blend, V3 has a feature called Sketchflow specifically for prototyping web sites. The advantage is you can play with your prototype to see how well it will work from a usability point of view without having to write any code.

Answer 5

If you want to show someone over the internet i recommend http://cosketch.com, it' like a whiteboard and has a feature where you can pull around images that allows you to test various layouts quickly while everyone who is connected can give opinions and show how they think.

Answer 6

Denim is a pretty good website-design prototyping program.

Some Advantages:

• Designs look "rough" (which is good because a potential user/customer will think it's finished if it looks finished. Also, if you are showing it to beta testers and it looks finished they tend to reserve criticism (and the early design phase is when you want that criticism.
• Easy to use
• Allows simple linking so it can create a functional website.
• Free.

http://dub.washington.edu:2007/denim/

Answer 7

The first and basic tool is to use pen & paper and draw basic structure of your idea on a paper. After then proceed to develop your idea into a website or web app.

Answer 8

you could look out for more alternatives on this 'page / question' (created by me) also. Do check out the links in the answers.

software for designing prototypes