Re:How Microsoft beat Apple to buy PowerPoint for $14M
by mikehearn on Friday June 10, 2016 @10:55AM
(#11876771)
I am unabashedly in support of using presentation software for initial UI design. For basic wireframing, you don't need much more than the ability add shapes, text, color, images + a way to demonstrate user flow (e.g. by ordering slides). Presentation software is perfect for this. It is accessible to everyone, lets non-technical users offer constructive input and is just incredibly fast to get something basic circulated.
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Re:How Microsoft beat Apple to buy PowerPoint for $14M
by martin-adams on Friday June 10, 2016 @11:02AM
(#11876829)
Actually you're right. I know a UX designer who had all the UI elements in wireframes and would move things around in Powerpoint based on feedback on conference calls.
I think my observation is when someone who 'thinks' they know what the right thing to do is from a UI point of view and shares it around before getting the actual designers involved. The ones who say, we need another button here, rather than asking, what is the user trying to achieve.
Re:How Microsoft beat Apple to buy PowerPoint for $14M
by surganov on Friday June 10, 2016 @11:38AM
(#11877123)
> Keynotopia transforms Keynote and PowerPoint into the best rapid prototyping tools for creating mobile, web and desktop app mockups
Re:How Microsoft beat Apple to buy PowerPoint for $14M
by derriz on Friday June 10, 2016 @04:47PM
(#11879884)
Agreed. I've also used (pre-ribbon) Excel effectively for this purpose by drawing the UI using cell background colors and border effects on multiple sheets. Occasionally breaking out some controls and bits of VBA if necessary.
Re:How Microsoft beat Apple to buy PowerPoint for $14M
by hnal943 on Friday June 10, 2016 @12:52PM
(#11877745)
I agree that you want a lightweight wireframing tool; Balsamiq Mockups has my allegiance. Powerpoint is incredibly slow and frustrating to use by comparison, even for non-developers.
Re:How Microsoft beat Apple to buy PowerPoint for $14M
by blt on Friday June 10, 2016 @06:52PM
(#11880771)
I was shocked the first time I saw someone use Powerpoint to make diagrams for an academic paper. Then I realized it's the closest thing to a real vector graphics editor in a typical person's toolbox. I won't stop being an Illustrator/LaTeX snob for my own work, but I can't fault people for using something they already know to get the job done and move on.