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I’ve recently been exposed to a mockup tool called Balsamiq. I’d recommend a visit to their site and a test drive of the tool. Balsamiq not only is endowed with a fairly endearing “sketchy” interface… but also touts virtually everything you need to create mockups that convey exact thoughts in minutes. (even seconds) The development team I work on recently created a very concise visual of where we would go with our application UI (with mockups) in 10 minutes or so of collaborative conversation during which one of the team members drew up a translation using Balsamiq’s intuitive drag and drop paradigm.

Initially I wondered whether Balsamiq’s choice of sketchy objects was a wise choice… but in the end it made perfect sense since that characteristic of our mockups kept everyone from getting distracted fit and finish work… which comes much later. Don’t take my word for it though, nip out to the Balsamiq Web Site and test drive for yourself.