Wireframes and prototypes

Prototyping is a complex multifaceted process employing several experts that requires thorough planning.  In order to ensure that agreed deadlines are met and to minimize potential delays caused by force majeure situations, we offer a detailed hourly plan for all upcoming work and control its fulfillment daily.

To understand all the specific features of the software product being developed, it is extremely important to dive deep into its application environment. If the application environment is uncommon or complex a separate environment study phase will be needed. We always dive deep even if it means going to the PCB manufacturing facility and studying the production process, consulting with trade experts to learn the subtleties of currency stock trade or drinking as many glasses of wine as necessary under the guidance of the sommelier to understand specifics of wine production and collection. It is deep research that has allowed us to come up with effective and well-executed UI in all the related products.

In most cases, the software being developed is not radically new and already has competing products on the market, at least outside of Russia. A Competitors Analysis allows us to adopt successful solutions and avoid most obvious mistakes even before we start the UI design process. As a rule, UI design includes a brief analysis of competitors − when necessary, however, a complete UI expert review is conducted allowing us to go into the smallest details and adopt the most successful features.

UI design demands thorough understanding of the limitations and the work effort associated with the product itself. Direct and immediate communication between our UI design team and software engineers is of crucial importance to us, as this ultimately leads to shorter design times.

A Wireframe (or high-level prototype) is a document that reflects the composition and content of all future UI elements (e.g. screens or pages). In just a few days’ time, we can produce a highly illustrative prototype allowing the customer to get a first look at the future product and provide immediate feedback for on-the-spot tweaking.

After the high-level prototype is approved by all concerned parties, we turn to high definition prototyping of the future product’s screens and states.

The selection of tools we use for high definition prototyping is always based on the specific task at hand. In the case of website or mobile app UI, we prefer Sketch since it allows us to immediately see the final result in the browser or on the smartphone screen. For more complex systems, we use Adobe InDesign as it is better suited when working with a large number of pages and custom controls.

Unlike a Technical Design Specification, which is text-based and allows for different interpretations by the concerned parties, the high definition prototype is clear and unambiguous. It allows one to see and comprehend the form of the future product and make necessary adjustments at a very early stage in the software design process. It is much faster and cheaper to complete changes to the prototype than to make changes to the software once development has started.         

Graphic design for the UI is the next logical step after its prototyping - this is, however, a different, stand-alone service. Once we have produced an interactive prototype, the customer will have an understanding of what the future interface will look like. Yet, it is only after the overall UI graphic style is introduced (including a unique look for the controls, icons and illustrations) that the final look and feel of the product will emerge.

Так же не обязательный этап проектирования графических интерфейсов, но вполне закономерный. При необходимости, мы можем разработать, спроектированные нами продукты: сайты, включая администраторскую часть, мобильные приложения под iOs и Android, сложные информационные сист6мы под Windows.