Wireframing Mobile Apps or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Index Cards

I love the Dr. Strangelove reference!

The advice is sold too! Unplugging is often the most helpful way to get sh*t done. Another technique I came across recently is to start off your day with production rather than consumption. i.e. start your morning writing a 500 word essay or going outside, sitting in a park, and just making those wireframes. Your day will be exponentially more productive!

Delightfully simple.

Additional benefit (not explicitly mentioned) is that you can test your UI/flows with potential users.

Imagine having a deck of cards with you in the pub. You could let someone navigate the app, card by card, and quickly identify the sticking points & user confusion. All without having to build anything.

Thank you! I always start with paper and pen - there is just no faster way to iterate and, more importantly: focus. I need to get out of the office to do creative work like this and taking a tablet with me just leads to distractions rather than just "out of the office for the next couple of hours in the park, don't email me".

Awesome (concise, yet detailed) post, Brian! I was just talking to a co-founder friend the other night who suggested the same approach. It's brilliantly-simple and is ideal for people looking to talk about their ideas without having to build them or smaller teams.

Thanks for sharing, Luke (http://LukeRB.com)

Hackers need intuitive design tools. Nothing's more intuitive than drawing with a pen on some cards. No commands to remember.