Tools are important, the right tool enables the craftsperson to create a quality end product for their given domain.
If you're creating artifacts or interactions that will go in to production then that is one thing. Also, if your core strength is visual design then you need to consider hifi tools. That said, I would argue that a significant proportion of us are simply communicating.... Communicating various concepts for review or testing, communicating solutions to constraints. Pushing teams to achieve goals that are outside of the box. Selling ideas. To that end, the right tool for the job is the one which best enables the flow from your imagination & experience to the chosen medium of presentation. While it will be the tool you are most familiar with it will generally also be the most simple tool if you follow Occam's Razor. I think we put pressure on ourselves to produce detailed & complex mockups. Its a measure of effort & skill. Quite often a lofi mockup is all that is needed to get a point across, sometimes the only way your audience will see the wood for the trees. Details at the concept stage are noise in your message. Complex & powerful tools like Fireworks require a great deal of investment in time to become so intuitive as to be transparent in your workflow, and, it is often the case you needed nothing more than pencil & paper. Its not what you communicate your ideas with that will ensure good design, its simply how well & clearly you communicate that elicits good feedback. If you're wrestling with a complex and unstable app to simply draw boxes & arrows - you're not designing optimally. So, if you're struggling with your current tool and looking for an alternative remember that people will always pimp their choice of tool, a good craftsman never blames his tools (I'm looking at you, visio user(o;) and power comes from simplicity. To illustrate the point, with nothing more than some sand this woman was able to move her audience to tears.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=518XP8prwZo /pauric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45590 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
