Why It’s Important to Sketch Before You Wireframe

Designing an interface is a process. It all begins with an idea, but that idea needs user interface translation. It’s not enough to say, “I want an app that does X, Y and Z”. You need to know what the user will see on each screen of your app to do X, Y and Z. Sketching takes your mind from in the clouds to the user interface, where you start thinking about the user experience. You already know what you want your app to do, but sketching helps you figure out how your app will take users to the desired result. Sketching allows you to visualize the screen flow of the user experience so that your idea isn’t just a figment of your imagination, but something that’s more visible and clear in user interface form.