Wireframe Design – Design Wireframe

Content is very important when creating wireframes. One benefit is that it can give your wireframes a ‘more realistic’ touch, which can be particularly useful for getting user feedback. Content strategy has to be planned and adapted to your project’s requirements. In a very early stage of conceptualization ‘lorem ipsum’ content is probably enough for your low-fidelity wireframes. This type of wireframe is not about testing the full user experience, but rather about the functionality of your planned website or application. Step by step you make your wireframe more detailed, which means that relevant content is needed. Try to avoid including fictional elements in your wireframes, such as celebrity or comic character names. It may sound odd, but it can easily distract the test user from the task in hand. Instead of thinking about a login process, you don’t want your test user to be thinking about the latest film by Tom Cruise.

The more detailed your project gets, the more precise you can be with your content. Detailed content (like product descriptions) can be useful. For example: Coat XY is available in green and red, its soft inner lining keeps you warm in winter. This means a lot of work, so before conceiving content think about how detailed you need your prototype to be. Wireframes are always about functionality and the design like the font type or colors shouldn’t be a main point in your concept. However in my experience, sometimes carrying out usability testing with more detailed wireframes regarding the content is helpful. The test user interacts with the prototype in a more natural and intuitive way while testing. This increases the correctness of your collected data.

A few years ago, the goal of mobile phone providers was to make devices as small as possible. I remember minute screens with a very simple UI design. As the functionality was limited (compared to smartphones nowadays), it was simply not necessary to create a complex UI design. With the rise of large touchscreen devices, this has changed. Phone manufacturers are trying to keep phones portable, but with a screen as big as possible.

A lot of people own both a mobile phone and a tablet. They use their phone for communication and organization, and their tablet to work with or watch a movie for example. There are already devices which combine both functionality aspects, like the Samsung Galaxy Note. My guess is that it will be the new trend to combine the tablet and smartphone in one. Why have two devices when you only need one? People are more likely to accept a bigger phone than a few years ago. For developers this means finding a good user interface size to suit different needs. The UI design gets even more complex as it has to be functional both when its user is walking around and when he is back at the office. For us UX designer this means being even more attentive about different user scenarios. The UI design of an application which is used when the user is doing something different at the same time (e.g. while using a map app the user is likely to walk) alters from a UI design of an application which is used with full attention. However, if the functionality of a tablet is combined with a mobile’s one, the borders of scope become indistinct. In my opinion we have to think even more creatively and freely about future UI designs.

The news about Apple reducing its orders about 50% for the latest iPhone model was a bit surprising to me. I have an idea why Apple has had problems maintaining the popularity of the iPhone over the last year. The media reported that the iPhone 5 is too expensive and has often advised consumers to stick with comparable devices of Samsung, Sony or HTC Desire. Some believe Apple should develop an affordable smartphone to target a wider range of customers. Anyway, another idea came to my mind why the iPhone isn’t as successful as it was.  Could it be that its UX design principles are outdated now?

Apple is popular for its easy and intuitive UI design. To navigate the iPhone, you rarely need directions, it’s learning by doing. I think the UI design is especially known for its information architecture. This type of arrangement system is called ‘hub & spoke’. The different functions are divided in separated spokes. To navigate between several applications the user has always to return to the device’s home screen (so this UI design pattern is not the best when multi-tasking is needed). So far so good.  Did Apple miss out on rethinking their User Interface Design?  I have been an iPhone user for almost three years now and as much I love its UI design, I have to admit – nothing changed over the last years. Of course, the Google Map app was removed and the company’s own map app was added, but in terms of look and navigation nothing changed in the UI design. In the market of smartphone and tablet devices trends change quickly. The customer should be animated to always want the latest model. In reaching this goal exciting new things should be offered. So, Apple! What about rethinking your UI design?