Balsamiq Mockups - WOW!
It is rare that I get impressed by something, but I have to admit that balsamiq has managed to really impress me.
Balsamiq mockups is a flash application that you can use to very quickly build a UI mockup. That in itself is not really new. What is new is that they have somehow managed to take this to a completely new level from the point of view of usability. It took me 7 minutes, from first use of their program, to get this thing working:
Aaron Jensen talked about it as well, which is how I heard about it, and damn am I thankful for that.
To say that I am impressed is not sufficient, I am going to buy a copy just because I didn't have to (I was able to create the above picture using the free version). If I could do it, and I am so dense in matters of UI that I cannot draw a straight line with a ruler, that is saying a lot. That I could do it so far, that is saying even more.
Comments
You can also use Serena Prototype Composer ( www.serena.com/.../home.html). it's a bit complex than Balsamiq but definitely worth to look out for and moreover it is also free (registration required).
Balsamiq is an awesome tool, it was exactly what I was looking for. Glad people are starting to notice it. I've blogged about it a few times, including how the developer made $100,000 in 5 months. Hopefully your NHProf tool will do the same :)
Microsoft Visio is also a great tool for those kind of things, using the xp-style controls objects. You can even change the scrollbar position and set the default button, etc. and everything is vector based so it prints very well.
This looks fantastic- I think seeing it just changed the way I (and my team) prototype UI's from now on. Thanks for the heads up.
The author recently passed $100,000 USD in revenue after only 5 months, so its a nice one man micro-isv business too :)
Comic Sans MS? Really, Balsamiq?
Agreed, it is a great handy little tool.
BTW, since you made a blog post, you are probably entitled to a free license.
I just discovered that we are using it for our current project :) And it's pretty good.
I have Visio, Omni, Azure, iRise and a number of other tools for design user interfaces. Until Balsamiq came out I was in love with Omni. I can now wireframe early concepts in Balsamig in 60% less time than in Omni Graffle (I tested it on a current enterprise application I am working on- 18 wireframes in 6 hours for complex screens). I love this tool for the concept/whiteboard design phase.