The Importance of Drawing Things on Paper in Real Life

I took a lot of CADD (Computer Aided Design and Drafting) classes in high school. So many, in fact, that my original major in college was Video Game Design. But, there weren’t very many video game studios in my area.

When I switched over to web design and programming, it made sense that I still preferred to draw my websites and applications on paper before actually laying down any code. It just seemed easier to sketch out my idea with a pencil, and tweak it until I was satisfied, and then start coding my interface. This practice has saved me a lot of heartache and time, just by letting me find design conflicts and possible deal-breaking errors early on.

The idea of “sketching it out” is especially useful when it comes to iPhone and iPad development. There are so many awesome looking apps, that it only makes sense for a developer to put a lot of thought into how their application will look on a real device. Your interface should be one of the very first things you finish in the planning process.

When I sketch an application, I prefer to use a wireframe. That is, a picture of a device with nothing on the screen, so that I can draw it right onto the screen. Being unable to find any wireframes online that I liked, I made my own, and they are free for you to use as well.

The wireframes are .PDF files, ready to print out. So go ahead and download the iPad Wireframe and download the iPhone Wireframe and get started!