Part 3: Hands-On Sketching
This article continues my wireframe series and focuses on the hands-on sketching phase.
A typical wireframe is not just a layout—it performs a primary task. This main task is usually composed of multiple subtasks and information units, often supported by secondary actions and contextual information. The challenge of wireframing lies in compiling all of these elements into a coherent, intuitive, and engaging experience.
Below, I outline a practical framework for sketching wireframes that perform well—both functionally and experientially.
1. Apply Jakob Nielsen’s Heuristics to Your Design
Jakob Nielsen defined 10 usability heuristics that can be applied to any digital design. Since a wireframe is always part of a larger system—whether software, an app, or a website—all ten heuristics are relevant at the wireframing stage.
A single wireframe must align with the overall system logic and design principles. To support this alignment, UX/UI teams typically develop design systems and style guides, ensuring adherence to the heuristic of Consistency and Standards.
At sketch level, this means:
Reusing familiar patterns
Respecting system-wide behaviors
Avoiding isolated design decisions that break user expectations
2. Apply the 5 Principles of Visual Design
When assembling a single wireframe—usually based on an existing design system—it is essential to consciously apply core visual design principles:
Scale – communicate importance through size
Visual hierarchy – guide the user’s attention
Contrast – create clarity and separation
Balance – achieve visual stability
Gestalt – help users perceive structure and relationships
These principles should already be embedded when you design the system itself, as they must remain consistent across software, apps, websites, and other cross-channel touchpoints.
Read more about Visual Deisgn Principles
3. Apply Gestalt Principles at the Right Levels
Gestalt principles operate on multiple levels of design.
At the design system level, consider:
Symmetry
Proximity
Closure
Similarity
Symmetry
Proximity
Closure
Similarity
These principles define how components relate to one another across the system.
At the individual wireframe level, focus on:
Good figure (figure–ground)
Similarity
Continuation
Good figure (figure–ground)
Similarity
Continuation
Here, Gestalt principles help users instantly understand what belongs together, what stands apart, and how to move through the interface.
Read more about Gestalt Principles
4. Remember Psychological Effects
When sketching your next wireframe, keep key psychological effects in mind. These effects influence how users perceive effort, choice, clarity, and motivation.
Examples include:
Cognitive load
Decision fatigue
Perceived control
Attention bias
Using these effects consciously will help you design wireframes that feel lighter, clearer, and more supportive—even before visual polish is applied.
Get wise on Psychological Effects
5. Use Your Colour Palette Accordingly
If you sketch your wireframes in a more visual manner, apply color intentionally.
Color usage may differ depending on:
Information hierarchy
Task priority
Interaction states
Even in low- to mid-fidelity sketches, color can help communicate structure, focus, and meaning—provided it follows your system’s hierarchy and logic.
6. Automate What Makes Sense with AI
Most wireframes are composed of elements from an existing design system. Unless you are sketching for a completely new system, parts of the wireframing process can be automated with AI.
This may include:
Generating structural layouts
Reusing validated patterns
Speeding up repetitive assembly tasks
Automation frees up time and cognitive capacity—allowing designers to focus on flow, logic, and user experience rather than mechanical repetition.
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