Welcome to Balsamiq Prototyping. It is a pleasure having you along for this practical exploration of Balsamiq Mockups. During the course of this book, we are going to explore everything there is to know about this wonderfully simple, yet powerful application; from understanding the application's interface, building a functional and professional wireframe, and finishing with a basic, clickable prototype to show off as part of your professional wireframe portfolio.
In fact, by the time you finish with this book, you will have become an expert in using Balsamiq and you will be able to express your ideas to their fullest and most professionally.
We will begin with the basics of the application and then move on to building a real-world wireframe project. As you progress through each chapter, you will also build upon what you have learned in the previous chapters. Finally, we will review and leave you with tips and resources to take your newly acquired skills to the next level.
In this chapter, we will cover the following:
- What is Balsamiq?
- Installing Balsamiq
- The application
Let's dive right in!
To understand Balsamiq is to understand wireframing. Wireframing is, of course, the sketching out of ideas for a product or web interface in skeletal form, depicting at a high level what it will do, how it might look, and how it will function. Prior to Balsamiq and other similar applications, wireframing was traditionally done by hand on paper, or by using applications like Visio and/or Photoshop.
While these are fine in their own right, Balsamiq offers things others do not. They are as follows:
- Ease of use: You will be creating wireframes moments after you open the application.
- Simple Tools: Balsamiq is filled with easy-to-understand visual tools that will help you to transfer your ideas from your head to the screen quickly and clearly.
- Portability: Balsamiq files can be easily shared among your peers and clients alike. With Balsamiq, you will be designing and sharing your work across multiple operating systems and with whomever you choose via e-mail, in print, or online.
- Affordability: Balsamiq is at a price everyone can appreciate. And that is because Balsamiq really does just one thing: wireframing. But, as you will soon see, it does that very, very well.
But enough talk! To really understand, experience, and enjoy Balsamiq, you have to use it. So let's get started.