For me, new programs, and new gadgets are like presents wrapped in shiny paper under the Christmas tree. I can’t wait to put my hands on them, and start playing with them. In the last year, I have tried Axure, Justinmind, Balsamiq, Mockups, etc.
I ended up using the sketch-look of Balsamiq the most often, even though I was told it lacked that professional look. It looks sketchy …. and that’s exactly what liberates me. The smooth look of other tools makes the wireframe “finished”, polished, and, may I say, untouchable in the sense of a marble statue. It is finished, no need to change. Whereas I like to think of design (even wireframe design) as a work in progress – there is always room for experimentation, re-thinking, re-tooling. Wireframes are more thinking tools than deliverables for me at this point. Once developers take over, it becomes a deliverable and will lose its sketchiness.
A plethora of studies prove that external props go far in affecting how we think. A study published by Hajo and Galinsky in 2012 showed that when college students dressed up in doctor’s smocks, they performed significantly better and increased their attention than a group of students dressed in identical smocks but described as painter’s clothing. The “borrowed” identity of a medical doctor made them take on the qualities of intelligence. Props and tools go a long way influencing our mental behavior.
