As a UX agency we look to streamline our process and deliverables at least every quarter. And that typically includes trying out new tools. We’ve got a few tried-and-true apps that we’d like to share as well as some new ones that are very promising.

Brains Not Tools

First, I’ve got to get on my soapbox for a minute. I was always taught that tools don’t make the designer, the brain in their head and the work experience they have is what makes them great. That being said, the advent of web-based wireframing and prototyping apps is bit annoying. The execution of them is fine but it’s the misunderstanding that possessing these tools makes the user a User Experience Designer is off putting. For instance, owning a hammer doesn’t make one a carpenter, but USING a hammer as part of your every day craft does make one a professional.

There, done, got that off my chest. Now back to tools…

The Standard Tools

You can’t go wrong with Adobe’s Creative Suite. You can go broke, but you can’t go wrong! On a daily basis we use: InDesign (for final project documentation), Photoshop for interface design, Illustrator for very large IA that requires scalability, and Dreamweaver for prototype development.

PROs of Adobe Creative Suite and UX

1. Design industry standard toolset
2. Mac-friendly
3. Robust package that assists from concept to implementation

CONs of Adobe Creative Suite and UX

1. Price
2. High barrier of entry
3. Not easy to share working documents with client because of CON #1 and 2

Wireframing and Prototyping

Although we do use the Creative Suite for prototyping we really don’t spend a lot of time with it for wireframing. This is largely due to the fact that Illustrator is too heavy for wireframing and has the tendency of making the screens too polished for testing. So we use Omnigroup’s Omnigraffle Pro. It’s such a great tool for quick mockups or higher fidelity clickthrus.

PROs of Omnigraffle Pro

1. Flexible use (concept to clickable prototype)
2. Flexible page dimensions address long, horizontal, and short screen mockups easily in one file
3. Lots of templates (great for beginners)

CONs of Omnigraffle Pro

1. Mac-only
2. Too many inspector windows
3. High barrier of entry for beginners

Promising Tools

If you work in the UX field you’ve heard of the tools above. You probably have them on your computer if you’re a Mac kinda guy or gal. But we’ve been exploring another set of tools that reside in the cloud thanks to two great companies: Google and Apple.

Google Premium

We made the move to Google Premium over a year ago now. We’ve been using the heck out of mail but have really been enjoying the integrated calendar and docs. For instance, we discovered that not all documents created need to be saved locally. For instance, our weekly blog posts are all written in Google Docs, sent out for review via the “share” function, edited in real time accompanied by Google Chat if someone is remote, and copied into WordPress for final publication. It’s a really sweet collaboration setup.

Apple iPad

Combined with the Evernote app and WiFi iPad I’ll be using this setup for guerilla usability testing. I’ll be recording the audio from each participant using a new “recorded” note and then typing up my closing thoughts as an addendum to each note for each participant. The iPad’s small, portable size makes it less intimidating than a laptop and allows me to be out of the participant’s peripheral view. Of course, popping out of the Evernote app and into a Safari window to view a referenced web site is great also. After several weeks of use I am continuing to find practical uses for the iPad. And hopefully, a 3G version will join the stable shortly.

Notice that all of these tools are digital. But don’t forget the power of pen and paper. We are big fans of black Moleskines and the Pilot G2 gel pens. But the purpose of these tools are to take nebulous concepts, research, data, and stakeholder feedback and create deliverables that concisely explain the what and how of a client’s product. It may be a web site redesign, a web app from scratch, or a new workflow process that makes an employee’s job more efficient. Some tools are great for some things, some tools for others. Your experience will help you figure which tools to use at certain points during the project.

Try out some of these tools, or share some that work well for you. And although it’s not all about the tools, it’s nice to know of some that can make your every day tasks a bit easier.

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