Part 2: Pull All the Information Together Before You Sketch
Once your information architecture is assembled, the next crucial step is to define a clear task for your wireframe. A wireframe is never “just a sketch” — it is a focused response to a specific user and business need.
Here’s how to approach this phase with clarity and intent.
1. Define Your User and Relevant Personas
Every wireframe is part of a larger product or communication initiative aimed at real people.
Before you sketch anything, clearly define:
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Who the user is
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Which persona is relevant for this specific screen
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What context the user is in when encountering it
A single wireframe should never try to serve all users — it should serve one user type, in one situation, with one goal.
2. Define the Screen Sizes You Design For
Next, determine the screen contexts your wireframe must support:
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Mobile, tablet, desktop, or multiple?
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Which screen size is dominant?
This decision significantly influences hierarchy, interaction patterns, and content prioritization. Designing without a dominant screen in mind often leads to diluted solutions and unnecessary compromises later.
3. Define the Task the Wireframe Must Solve
Each wireframe exists to solve one clear task — nothing more, nothing less.
This task might be:
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Delivering a piece of information
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Guiding a decision
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Enabling an action
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Solving a user or organizational problem
Use user stories to articulate the task clearly, ensuring it serves both:
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A real user need
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A concrete business or organizational goal
4. Balance User Needs and Company Perspective
Every design operates within a context:
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Companies have commercial goals
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Public institutions have mandates and responsibilities
These perspectives will always shape the task your user is solving.
Your role as a designer is to unite these perspectives into a transparent, honest, and engaging experience — where value exchange feels fair, understandable, and meaningful to the user.
5. Apply Cognitive and Design Principles to Make Task-Solving Easy
Effective wireframes rely on more than layout. They use:
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Cognitive principles
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Visual hierarchy
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Familiar interaction patterns
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Progressive disclosure and clarity
These tools help users solve tasks with less effort and more confidence.
In upcoming articles, I’ll explore a wide range of these principles and how to apply them intentionally.
Get Wise On How To Sketch a Wireframe
6. Utilize Your Company’s Design Standards and Guidelines
Finally, ground your wireframe in reality:
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Follow existing design systems
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Reuse patterns and components
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Respect established interaction models
This not only speeds up the design process but also creates consistency, trust, and recognizability across the product.
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