Why does nobody talk about how much easier wireframes were back in 2010

Back when I first started messing around with design, I used to just sketch wireframes on graph paper with a pencil. It took maybe 15 minutes to rough out a homepage layout and I could erase stuff if it looked wrong. Last week I tried using Figma's wireframe tools for a simple project and got lost in all the auto-layout settings for almost an hour. There is something about the old pen and paper method that just forces you to focus on the big picture without worrying about spacing down to the pixel. I actually finished that graph paper sketch in the time it took me to figure out how to center a box in Figma. Has anyone else had better luck sticking to simple hand sketches for early ideas?

2 comments

2 Comments

josephs264d ago

My crew tried moving to digital sketching on tablets a few years back and it was a nightmare for the same reasons. Hand drawn stuff on paper just forces you to think in broad strokes without getting bogged down. I still keep a stack of graph paper in my truck for planning out jobs where the layout is complicated. That graph paper method saved me on a bathroom remodel last month when I needed to rough out three different fixture arrangements in under ten minutes.

christophermurray3d ago

Man, I feel you on that. I still carry a pocket notebook with grid pages everywhere, even got one in the kitchen drawer for when I'm measuring stuff around the house. There's just something about being able to flip pages and cross things out fast that a tablet can't beat when you're in the middle of a job.