As a designer, I think a lot in terms of color. I absolutely love color. Color has personality, and more importantly, the power to evoke an emotional response. When I created my first low fidelity wireframe this week, I had to keep myself from thinking too much about color. Working with color can be really enticing, but because it holds such a strong influence over emotions and decisions, I see the advantage of wireframing without it. Designing without color means you eliminate the possibility of choosing one that is not right and you avoid using color as a design crutch. By using shades of gray, I’m forced to establish the function and structure first. I have been thinking of it as creating a solid foundation— a monochrome or grayscale wireframe feels like something that I can build upon, rather than something that is already complete. From there, I can see the possibilities and get excited about adding color and style. I won’t lie though, sometimes I do find myself wondering if I chose the right gray.
