[RESOLVED] Wireframe

[pathfinder74]

I keep seeing this term "wireframe" in jobs descriptions.

Develops , use cases, site maps, detailed wireframes, and other design artifacts

My visual of wireframe is more in of a CAD/3D design.

Is it just a fancy word for a website design graphic rendering/sample or am I completely missing out on something?

[eCat]

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

Wireframes are a basic visual guide used in web design to suggest the layout of fundamental elements in the interface. Because of this they are often completed before any artwork is developed. When completed correctly they will provide a visual reference upon which to structure each page. Wireframes also allow for the development of variations of a layout to maintain design consistency throughout the site. This is an important part of the initial development stage because it creates user expectations and helps to develop an awareness of and familiarity with the site.

[eddt]

As EmeraldCat has already dropped a definition on you, I can add that I have seen and built both simple wireframes which were meant as a rough guideline for page sections, and complex ones, where the spacing allotted for the buttons and graphics were defined and communicated on the wireframe.

Think of it as an "unskinned" visual reference to the site/application, where you've laid out much of the details and defined the sections of all screens that users will get to.

[pathfinder74]

Wow.... I guess I'm really too much into more of a free-form method of designing where I just start with a blank canvas in photoshop and some sort of inspiration(s) and I just run with it... not particular "direction"...

I guess in some ways this would be good for the structure and basing the graphics on the "pre-layout". I usually just go into Photoshop thinking "I can pretty make it look like anything because CSS can handle one way or another.

Thanks guys

[eddt]

Well its a very handy thing to have on file. Sometimes its nothing more than some rough sketches on some graph paper, and other times its an entire set of computer-generated drawings. Once in the habit of dealing with them, you'll find that you referr to them constantly, and quite often clients who want a deliverable early on really like to see them; so they can get a handle on how it will work, which is way more important than what it looks like!

[eCat]

Wireframes are useful for explaining site structure to less-technical people. This is something you often have to do in a job for a larger company - your team might know what the website should look like and how it should function, but the managers who have to approve it often need a little more hand-holding. Thus ... wireframes!! =)

[pathfinder74]

Is it also like a flow chart that lays out the navigation?