Interactive Sketching for User Interface Design Interactive Sketching for User Interface Design James A. Landay Human-Computer Interaction Institute School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Ave. Abstract Current interactive user interface construction tools are often more of a hindrance than a benefit during the early stages of interface design. These tools take too much time to use and force designers to specify more of the design details than they wish at this stage.
Most designers prefer to sketch early interface ideas on paper.
I am developing an interactive tool called SILK that allows designers to quickly sketch an interface using an electronic pad and stylus. When professional designers first start thinking about a visual interface, they often sketch rough pictures of the screen layouts. Unfortunately, this transition forces the designer to specify too many details. These tools force designers to bridge the gap between how they think about a design and the detailed specification they must create to allow the tool to reflect a specialization of that design. Another key lesson from the design literature is the value of iterative design.