Remember those early days when skipping wireframes was considered digital design blasphemy, and going straight to high-fidelity mockups meant you were just another "pretty pixels" designer?

Fast forward to today, and the tools have evolved to make our traditional wireframing process feel like using a horse and buggy in the age of electric cars.

Design systems and component libraries have transformed our workflow, making it possible to rapidly prototype with real, production-ready elements rather than spending hours crafting the perfect shade of wireframe gray.

The truth is, those gray boxes and lorem ipsum placeholders often created more confusion than clarity, leading to endless rounds of "but ignore the visuals" conversations with stakeholders.

What really matters is starting meaningful conversations earlier, whether that's through quick sketches, rough layouts with actual components, or good old-fashioned whiteboarding sessions.

So here's to all the designers who've felt guilty about skipping the wireframe phase—you weren't wrong; you were just early to the party. Who else has been secretly harboring anti-wireframe sentiments? Let's hear your stories!

at this point investing any amount of time in a Balsamiq-esque wireframe as i was taught in school seems archaic. i've worked with c-suite members who have made prototypes of their own visions/ideas in PowerPoint ahahaha

Good ‘old PPT

i remember in university i had a prof tell me it was the best design tool for non-designers. my professional career has so far validated that lol

I feel like Canva is creeping on that territory.

most certainly – i have non-designer friends in comms/marketing jobs who use it for social media stuff nowadays. putting together passable design has become a lot more accessible (so expertise on the underlying UX and having good taste are the ultimate advantage now imo)

Absolutely! Can't beat good craft. Speaking of Canva, I saw this earlier today and they're a product designer/content creator. posts.cv/howdyimkai/28N…

Kai Tran on Posts

HOLYCOW I always felt so overwhelmed in canva, but pushed myself to give it a try... and it's incredibly powerful for content creators! + brand center for consistency + easy page animations + mobile version is relatively easy also fun little features like note taking and timer

posts.cv