, I am sure that if you are a web/IDE/UI developer, , want to communicate your ideas visually or even just need to visualize something more complicated than an empty rectangle now and then, , you are yearning for a simple tool enabling you to create high-level mockups easily and fast. , Photoshop sucks in this regard - it’s neither fast nor simple and not easy to use by any means. , Other typical tools (MS Visio for example) are too heavy/bloated/… , as well. ,

Balsamiq mockups to the rescue! Finally a tool with zero learning curve (you don’t even need to have any design skills), , is dirt simple to use, , and knows exactly the things you need to create beautiful mockups / sketches. , Finally you can get real with sketching your thoughts!

Of course this is not to say Balsamiq is just for toying around - quite a few serious designers prefer Balsamiq to MS visio and other, , more standard tools out there, , so it is definitely a wise choice for more complicated mockups too.

Thanks for the raving, , but what’s so good about it?

You have to try it out to get the hang of it, , I can’t do that instead of you - but I can try to summarize the things I like the most:

Widget selection: You are creating the mockups by drag and dropping & configuring widgets. , The selection of widgets speaks for itself:

It is just great to have widgets like a browser window, , different charts, , buttons, , tabs, , tables, , stickers, , callouts, , scratch-outs… , you name it. ,

Widget configuration: setting up the widgets to look ‘real’ is very intuitive and quick. , For example setting up a data grid / table: after drag and dropping the table to your mockup, , you can set the data up like this (on the left side you can observe the grid data you are entering ; on the right side you can view the result)

Configuring the other widgets is similarly intuitive and easy. , You have a box called ‘property inspector’ where you can set up the widget, , as well as bring it to the front/send it to the back etc. , If the selection still does not meet your needs, , request new widgets at balsamiq’s getsatisfaction customer center - indeed the author is extremely focused on customer satisfaction!

great hand-drawn icons - one of my favorite widgets are icons - you get these great ones below out of the box:

laying out the widgets - I really find the auto alignment of widgets with regard to each other super-intuitive and helpful. , It totally speeds up the process that you don’t have to care much about the placement of the widgets - it will just look right with minimal moving around, , even with a big number of widgets.

simplicity and intuitiveness - you really have to try it yourself, , I can’t describe this point. , After about 10 minutes of playing around, , everything was intuitive and easy, , I didn’t even notice and my mockup was ready, , because it’s actually fun to work with balsamiq!

outstanding support - I emailed the author, , Peldi a few times, , and his answer was prompt, , kind and 1000% on the ball - solved all my problems instantly! Try to do the same with MS visio (just kidding, , please don’t)

So What’s the Catch?

There is no spoon! Err… , catch. , Whatever. , Balsamiq is a tiny little bit rough around the edges, , but I didn’t find a show stopper bug or missing feature. , I ran into really little things, , like

• no “check for updates” feature which is omnipresent on the Mac
• couldn’t edit charts at all (so if you have 4 separate charts, , they are always 2 red/blue lines looking the same)
• missing minor options for other widgets as well
• would really like to have the ability to draw with a tablet/mouse (freehand drawing);
• create custom widgets, , by drawing them with a tablet (ok, , this is probably too advanced for now)
• more widgets and icons (though the existing selection is really, , really good - had almost anything I needed so far)
• minor bugfixes (the property editor vanished once and couldn’t bring it back - had this error just once)

If you want to know more

Definitely check out the not-even-2-minute balsamiq screencast to get a better idea what I am babbling about here - then head over to the balsamiq mockup homepage and check out their offer. , If you are an open source contributor / blogger / speaker willing to write / talk about balsamiq, , you might get it free for free with a great chance (I got it, , so it’s definitely possible without publishing a blog that’s read by 100k people).

Conclusion

If you want to communicate your ideas visually, , create a quick sketch of a webpage you are going to prototype, , a concept of an IDE, , or just want to jot down something non-textual quickly, , balsamiq is your thing. , Definitely try it out - you’ll be hooked in no time, , promise!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 6:01 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.