Karla News

A Review of Pencil: A Free Interface Mockup Application

Pencils

Pencil is a free application that allows anyone to design prototype or wireframe interfaces for websites, software applications, and mobile applications. Known as the Pencil Project, the application is considered freeware and is published under a creative commons license. Pencil comes in two forms: a plug-in for the Firefox 3 web browser and as a standalone application. While the plug-in form of Pencil can be convenient, it can be less responsive than running the standalone version. The standalone version is far more responsive and has better performance. This review covers the standalone version.

Currently the standalone version of Pencil is available for Windows and Linux. The most current version available for both formats is version 1.2. Pencil does a pretty good job with its core purpose: to design interface prototypes or wireframes. Many software developers and website designers use mockup and wireframe tools such as Balsamiq Mockups, Denim, Protoshare, and Caretta GUI Design Studio. All of these applications offer powerful features for a price. However, Pencil offers many the same options and features found these products without cost.

Pencil offers what is referred to as stencils collections which are groups of design elements designed for different types of interfaces. The stencil collections cover basic interface objects for websites, operating systems, standard GUI systems, and even mobile phone interfaces. Any stencil can be used from any collection and it’s easy to mix and match. Also included with Pencil is a general set of design elements along with what is referred to as Sketchy stencils. The sketchy stencils look like they were hand drawn, making a prototype interface to be more of a work in progress. If the included stencil collections are not helpful, further stencil collections are also available on the Pencil website.

See also  Dreamy Photos in Photoshop - 3 Steps to Glamour Shots

In Pencil, it is easy to create different design levels for each interface. Using the sketchy elements collection, one can design a rough design for initial presentation. Then the designer can create a more polished design using other collections. Then the designer could create a final design mockup using some of the more advance stencils. In fact, many of the stencils are semi-interactive including drop down menus, panels, tabs, and radio buttons. Pencil also includes basic drawing operations as well as text elements for designing prototypes with custom features. The designer has a wide range of interface levels that can be created using Pencil, making it very versatile for many levels of prototype design.

After producing interface designs or prototypes, a designer can choose to save the design or export the design as a png graphic image, a pdf file, a web page, an open office document, or even a Word document. These versatile options are easy to use and make presenting final designs in presentation slideshows or even on websites very easy.

What’s not to like in Pencil? If one wanted to nick pick, there could be a larger collection of stencil collections available either online or built into the applications. The plug-in version has some performance problems but the stand alone performed very well. Some people might like a more robust feature set or even more interactive stencil elements while others might want greater support that what is offered by Pencil. There is support in the form of forums and online user guides. However, for the price, the application holds up fairly well with other prototype tools such as Balsamiq Mockups.

See also  How to Use Watercolor Pencils

Without a doubt, designing prototype interfaces is a snap with Pencil. It is relatively easy to create a fairly complex prototype in little time. The different selections of stencils can be mixed for different interface designs with both low and high fidelity. The use of basic drawing tools also helps to round out the design features in Pencil. The inclusion of a multitude of export features makes Pencil a good choice for designers that need to use their creations on other platforms. Pencil is highly recommended for anyone to try out when considering a wireframe or prototype application.