Introduction to sketchflow in blend 3

Prototyping with sketchflow

Recently, we introduced a new set of tools that add on to expression blend 3 that are designed to address the early stages of design.

 

With sketchflow, you can

 

A) sketch out ideas

B) turn those ideas into working prototypes that are as rough or as real as you want them to be

C) present those interactive user experiences for review and comment in the sketchflow player

 

Sketchflow prototypes are quick and informal, enabling designers to easily every e a variety of ideas. you can run and configure e prototypes from the first rough sketch on. when you are ready to develop further, you can convert a prototype into a real application in expression blend or Visual Studio.

 

Sketching ideas

When you start working on a new prototype project for either WPF or Silverlight, you'll see the panels, control toolbox, and artboard that you are likely accustomed to in expression blend. you can use the existing set of controls found in expression blend 3 or your own controm controls.

 

Sketchflow also provides a set of "Sketch-styled" controls that provide your prototype with a consistent sketch look so focus can remain on the concepts of the user experience without being distracted by the details of specified als too early. the sketch-styled controls are fully functional and can be reverted to the high fidelity controls at any moment. below is a flavor of how the sketch-styled controls appear.

 

 

 

Mapping flow and navigation

While the artboard provides a view on an individual screen, the application flow panel allows you to map out the flow of your application, and then quickly make changes to that flow without reworking the design.

 

In the Application below, solid blue arrows represent stops along the way in the user experience, while dashed green arrows represent content that can be shared or reused between screens, such as a set of common site navigation buttons that appear on multiple pages.

 

 

Gathering feedback

Sketchflow provides a way to showcase your prototype to others using the sketchflow player. the sketchflow Player allows you to construct e the prototype from the first moment on, even while it consists of nothing but a few rough sketches. the player lets you navigate your prototype, run animations that controls strate how your prototype might work, or switch into different states of your UI, all without wiring up actual UI elements. this lowers the cost of evaluating ideas in early stages before much expense has been incurred.

 

But showing a prototype to others is only part of the review process, so the sketchflow player provides tools to collect feedback from reviewers. reviewers can provide feedback either as text, like the comments in the feedback tab in the screenshot below, or as ink, like the red arrow in the screenshot below. then you can induplicate ate this feedback into the prototype using the feedback panel in expression blend, allowing you to iterate on your design using suggestions from your team.

 

 

Adding interactivity and Data

Sketchflow leverages features of expression blend 3 to let you make your prototypes come alive. add interactivity without code using behaviors, prototype your data-driven UI with sample data, and import content from Adobe Photoshop and illustrator.

 

For more information, watch a video on sketchflow or read my previous post on the Expression blend 3 Preview.

 

Namaste!

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Sketchflow to design prototype

[Original article address]: prototyping with sketchflow

Recently, we have added a new set of tools in expression blend 3 to aid in the early stages of design.

With sketchflow, you can

A) design sketch for your ideas

B) Turn these ideas into working prototypes, and their precision can be based on your needs, from extremely rough to close to real products.

C) present these interactive user experiences in the sketchflow player for review and comment

Sketchflow is used to create fast and informal prototypes so that designers can easily explore various ideas. You can start running and explore the prototype from the first rough sketch. When you prepare for further development, you can use expression blend or Visual Studio to convert the prototype into a real application.

Idea sketch

When you start to create a new prototype for a WPF or Silverlight project, you will see the expression blend panel, control toolbox, and artboard that you are very familiar. You can use the existing control in expression blend 3 or your custom control.

Sketchflow also provides a set of "Sketch Style" controls to make your prototype look the same as the style of the sketch, which helps to focus on the concept of user experience, instead of being too distracted by the details of visual effects. The sketch style controls have complete functions and can be converted to high-quality controls at any time. The following shows the appearance of a sketch-style widget.

Ing stream and navigation

Artboard provides a single-screen view, and the application process Panel allows you to create a ing stream for the application, or quickly modify the flowchart without re-designing.

In the following applications, the blue solid arrow represents a station during the user experience process, and the green dotted arrow represents the content that can be shared or reused between various screens, for example, a set of website navigation buttons shared on multiple web pages.

Gathering feedback collects feedback

Sketchflow provides a way to present your prototype to others-the sketchflow player. The sketchflow Player allows you to explore prototypes from the first moment, even if it contains only a few rough sketches. This Player allows you to browse your prototype and run an animation to show how your prototype will work, or switch to different States of the user interface without any actual user interface elements. This significantly reduces the cost of evaluating ideas before many of the costs in the early stages have occurred.

However, displaying prototypes to others is only part of the review process, so the sketchflow player also provides tools to collect comments from reviewers. Comments can provide feedback in different forms: Text, comments in the feedback label below; or ink, the Red Arrow below. Then you can use the feedback panel in expression blend to integrate these feedback into the prototype, which allows you to iterate your design using various suggestions from your team.

Add interaction and Data

Using expression blend 3, sketchflow helps you create a lifelike prototype: a data-driven User Interface prototype created using sample data to add interactions without code, and import content from Adobe Photoshop and illustrator.

For more information, watch the sketchflow video or read my previous post expression blend 3 Preview.

Namaste!