Wireframes have been around since the early '80s. Their focus, at least initially, was on what the screen in the desktop application did (remember, web applications were not around yet), and for its general layout. They were not meant to be used as what the final design was to look like—including font selection, colors, and other properties of the controls on the screen. In essence, they were the prototype on paper. Paper prototyping, conversely, is a process that uses the wireframes. It's worth noting that the nouns wireframes and mockups are used interchangeably—they are the same thing. I'll briefly cover the paper prototyping process at the end of this chapter.