Landay Current interactive user interface construction tools are often more of a hindrance than a benefit during the early stages of interface design. These tools are hard to use and they encourage designers and evaluators to focus on the wrong issues, such as color, fonts, and alignment, at this early stage.
Most designers prefer instead to sketch early interface ideas on paper.
However, designing on paper also has many drawbacks. Paper-based designs are hard to edit and cannot easily be tested with users. This dissertation describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an interactive sketching tool called SILK that overcomes these problems and combines many of the benefits of paper-based sketching with current electronic tools. SILK allows designers to quickly sketch an interface using an electronic pad and stylus. However, unlike a paper sketch, this electronic sketch is interactive and can easily be annotated and modified using editing gestures.