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Ask HN: Which tools do you use for wireframes?

18 points by philippz ↗ HN
I'm a developer, not a web designer. I've been using Balsamiq for many years but while Sketch and Figma replaced Photoshop in many cases, I'd like to see what other tools you're using these days in order to quickly sketch some wireframes.

11 comments

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blacksoil
I had been using Pencil on Linux. But lately I have been using Figma on Windows. I like the interactivity aspect of Figma where I could build an interactive demo real quickly to showcase an idea
luto
I used to use Balsamiq wireframes for quite some time. Now I use https://draw.io for most basic sketching.

https://balsamiq.com/wireframes/

anotheryou
If i don't have to impress I love Balsamiq with comic sans font. Makes it clear this is UX, not design and exported as clickable PDF it works quite nicely.
hkiely
Balsamiq is one of the most simple tools to use. Many people may find drawing shapes in PowerPoint easer. The linking in Balsamiq works faster.
oh_boy
A whiteboard or a Everlast Rocket Book, erasable pen and OfficeLens app to digitalise it. Then I put it into Figma and can prototype with them and show it to my clients.

I'm too slow with any software solution as it allows for too many details.

rolae
There are hundreds of wireframing / prototoyping tools out there, I tried many of them, I would still recommend Balsamiq for non-designers. It stays true to its core, to keep things simple and fast. Sketch & Figma will slow you down, so unless you need to create highly interactive prototypes or you want to do visual design, then I say, stick to it.

I recently gravitated back towards Balsamiq, as I helps me think at the right level, and not go too much into detail.

And love their licensing, I bought a license 10 years ago, and got ten years of upgrades. Recently they had their first paid upgrade in ten years, this is just unmatched in commercial software.

wprapido
- Pencil and paper - Adobe Illustrator

Yeah, I'm ol' skool. If I want to convey interactivity or present the flow, I opt for Axure RP

zkirill
I swear by the native iOS Notes app and an Apple Pencil on an iPad. Simple, reliable, no surprises, and easy to share.
tchock23
I’ve been using Moqups.com for along time now. Does the job, but I don’t have much to compare to.