Before starting the visual design of a website, we always begin with wireframes. Wireframes give us the opportunity to evaluate content, user experience flows, and whether or not we are catering to the target audience. The look and placement of elements in a wireframe do not reflect the intended design.
Building a wireframe is like collecting ingredients before cooking — before we begin we need to make sure we have everything we need.
Our wireframing tool of choice is GoMockingbird.com. With Gomockingbird we can share wireframe links for clients to view and edit with us in real time. We mock-up the unique layouts and flows of the website and once approved, we start on the visual design. Wireframes aren't strictly reserved for web design. We often use wireframes for the structure of magazine and infographic design. Below is an example of the wireframe and final website design for the Institute For Medical Engineering & Science at MIT.
