Best 5 tools for sketching analytics dashboards
Within the design phase of a wireframe, there are two moments: the preliminary sketch by hand and the second, the digital sketch. For the second moment, there are many free resources available on the web. Still, not all of them are practical or recreate the desired results.
I will share the result of finding and using five of these applications to create wireframes for my first clients.
Of the five applications, only two managed to meet my expectations regarding design quality, graphics, and simplicity in the program interface. Although they did not create my expected design, the other three have useful aspects that may be useful for another data scientist.
Below are the list and a quick video of the applications and it’s ranking.
5. Wireframe.cc
Pricing: It offers a free trial for seven days. The paid version of Wireframe .cc is available from $16.00 USD/month until $99.00 USD/month.
Pros: it is very intuitive, simple, and you can get started very quickly, it is unnecessary to see tutorials. Although the tool is useful for various kinds of wireframes, it seems that it is more useful for wireframes of web pages.
Cons: it has a limited amount of shapes, and it is not possible to draw for creating charts, and it’s what we need the most. Also, it does not support saving on the fly.
4. Mockup Tiger
It provides widgets for creating quick website outlines, mobile templates, and dashboard graphics.
Pricing: they have an online version for free and a server version with prices from $89 to $449 dollars per year.
Pros: it is easy to use and has many shapes for web pages and graphics that accept data and behave like real graphics.
Cons: although it has many shapes, they are not enough for data visualization. Adding to this, it is not possible to make drawings.
3. Invision
If you remembered the app “Paint” of the olds computer and like it, maybe this works for you.
Pricing: they have an online version for free and a server version with a price of $7.95 USD per user/month
Pros: the interface is elementary and nice, it is easy to draw and add images to create a very pleasant and presentable dashboard. It also has sharing features, which made it very easy to collaborate. Personally, it was not great for me because I’m a terrible drawing; I need predetermined shapes and graphs.
Cons: I think this tool is not very useful as it does not have default shapes and graphics. Also, the design-time here is longer than in other applications because it is almost like doing it by hand.
2. Moqups
Helps you create wireframes, mockups, diagrams, and prototypes. Moqups Is a complete tool and practice to use.
Pricing: Has an online version for free and a server version with prices from $16 to $49 USD per month.
Pros: you can design dashboards for data visualization and also create diagrams and flows, which are very useful to some presentations.
Cons: just like other apps, the Mockup tool has its disadvantages in the free version. For example, you cannot save your work or export it as a PDF, PNG, or JPG file, but if you can finish your work in one session, there is still the screenshot function
1. Balsamic
In my opinion, this is an accessible and excellent tool for a data visualization designer. There you can create quickly and unique dashboards.
Pricing: has a free version and also offers a free trial. However, you need to pay from $90 USD per year or up to $1,990 USD to have the full version.
Pros: the best attribute of this software is that it is elementary to use and user friendly. Plus, you can find a feature set aimed at creating wireframes in a minimum of time. Its interface is easy to use; it is drag and drop and has many kinds of charts, forms, and symbols and has an option to aggregate more of them. You are also able to convert your wireframes into different formats to save them. The tool has pretty much all you need to make an excellent prototype.
Cons: you could not customize the colors of some elements.
The list of these tools can be useful for data scientists starting to work in this area. You just have to find the one that meets your expectations. It is essential to notice two crucial things:
1. The simpler your Wireframe, the more efficient it will be. Use simple shapes and a simplified visualization to demonstrate the relationship between elements and, essential, minimize the use of colors.
2. A good wireframe depends on your type of audience and their needs. Remember that one of the objectives is to look for elements that do not allow the user to capture the final information that you want to give them when we present a dashboard. Therefore, look for answers to questions like:
- Do we need to incorporate more data?
- Do you need more details on the metrics to calculate?
- Who else can you share this with for feedback?
