Re: GUI mockup software

[Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Thanks, everyone.

Our need is simple and we already have Visio for creating sample
flowcharts. That's not the issue. What the real issue is about is the
actual designing of various dialog boxes. While ours is a Windows-based
app, the app is totally custom and doesn't adhere to Microsoft's GUI
element design. For example, all of our buttons are oversized, are 3D and
typically use use a teal gradient. Most dialog boxes have a dark gray
(51-51-51) background.

> Chris

On Mon, Nov 12, 2012 at 12:34 PM, <jimmy -at- breck-mckye -dot- com> wrote:

> Margaret, I think you may have made a mistake. Azure is Microsoft's cloud
> hosting service. The tool you are thinking of is Axure, which does have a
> 30-day free trial but then costs about $300 per license (more if you want
> to use its spec generator and versioning control tools).
>
> But back to the question.
>
> There are a few options for creating interfaces, depending on how
> high-fidelity your specifications need to be. Balsamiq is cheap and has a
> shallow learning curve, but creates very lo-fi mockups, so it won't expose
> you to aesthetic or visual design issues. It is good for development
> stories, but I'd be wary of using it when designing a new product from
> scratch. For that, I would use something like Adobe Fireworks or even
> Photoshop for big projects.
>
> I would not use 'compromises' like Excel or Visio; they simply aren't well
> adapted to the task at hand. Powerpoint provides some limited interactivity
> but there are better ways to document flows than interactive prototypes
> anyway.
>
>
>
> On 2012-11-12 18:49, Margaret Cekis wrote:
>
>> Chris Morton asked about GUI mockup software.
>> _________________________
>> Chris:
>> The only one I am familiar with is Azure. (My employer uses it to mock-up
>> GUIs when they are working with customers who want to personalize the GUI
>> with their own organization names.)  When I Goggled Azure, I was surprised
>> that it belongs to Microsoft. Here's a link for a 90-day free trial:
>>
>>
>> http://www.windowsazure.com/**en-us/pricing/free-trial/?WT.**
>> mc_id=azurebg_us_se<http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/free-trial/?WT.mc_id=azurebg_us_se>
>> m_branded_trialpage
>>
>> Margaret Cekis, johns Creek GA
>>
>>
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> Writer Tip: Create 10 different outputs with Doc-To-Help -- including
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>>
>> Read all about them: http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-10-**outputs<http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-10-outputs>
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Writer Tip: Create 10 different outputs with Doc-To-Help -- including
> Mobile and EPUB.
>
> Read all about them: http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-10-**outputs<http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-10-outputs>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com -dot- 
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> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- **com <techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
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> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Writer Tip: Create 10 different outputs with Doc-To-Help -- including Mobile and EPUB.

Read all about them: http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-10-outputs
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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