{"id":15598,"date":"2017-05-12T15:32:14","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T22:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uxpin.com\/studio\/?p=15598"},"modified":"2023-11-30T15:05:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T23:05:03","slug":"next-generation-wireframes-microframes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uxpin.com\/studio\/blog\/next-generation-wireframes-microframes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Next Generation Wireframes are Microframes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wireframes are dead! Interactive prototypes are everything!<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve heard these shouts for at least the past 7 years<\/a>. If the popularity of these discussions proves anything, it\u2019s that the opposite is true. The mere fact that we continue to discuss the alleged death of wireframing proves that wireframing is doing fine and continues to exist as part of design processes that fit, at least, some projects and some designers.<\/p>\n

How has wireframing survived? It continues to evolve<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Wireframing might be a static asset, but it\u2019s definitely not a static technique.<\/i><\/p>\n

Long gone are the days of black on white wires built in Microsoft Visio or Excel Spreadsheets (yes, I worked with PMs who used to place wireframes in spreadsheets).<\/p>\n

Wireframing Evolves<\/h3>\n

Today\u2019s wireframing  has been split into multiple techniques that serve different purposes, projects or preferences of designers.<\/p>\n

Some designers like to gather early feedback with lightweight interactive wireframes<\/a>. Interactive wireframes are design deliverables that represent the high-level architecture and the most basic interactivity. Created in the span of hours instead of days, they help with user testing and getting early buy-in from stakeholders. Interactive wireframes might be destroyed soon after their birth, or evolve into a completely different asset, but that\u2019s part of the overall concept.<\/p>\n

Wireframes are supposed to be short-lived sketches. After their job is done they should be destroyed without a sign of remorse. <\/em><\/p>\n

Another version of a good old  wireframe is a content wireframe<\/a>. This static form serves as a structure used to plan content and information architecture before<\/b> investing time and money into the rest of the interface design. This technique works great for content-heavy websites, which need a careful content strategy, before we, designers, get all creative with its form and beautiful looks. After all, content is king.<\/p>\n

And finally, wireframes evolved into a form of even a lower fidelity. A form in which the format of a wireframe gets minimized, text is replaced by geometric shapes and every piece of the interface is simplified as much as it’s only possible.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s my favorite new form of wireframing.<\/p>\n

Enter Microframes<\/h3>\n

Microframes, or micro wireframes, are minified versions of wireframes. Through minimizing the effort, maximizing the speed and lowering the fidelity, micro-frames amplify the benefits of wireframing and eliminate most of the shortcomings.<\/p>\n

Microframes are minified wireframes on steroids.<\/i><\/p>\n

What are the benefits?<\/p>\n