How to tame a user interface using a spreadsheet
7 comments
·October 11, 2025xnx
skydhash
Figma can work, but you have to restrict yourself to not embellish the wireframe. Choose one font only and use basic shapes only. Use colors only if you must (warning states, primary actions, …)
lesinski
I love to use spreadsheets for prototyping too! 1) moving around a spreadsheet is very fast and lightweight 2) it forces you to think about layout first, before getting into imagery, colors and design
treetalker
As an appellate attorney, when I'm dealing with my own legal writing or someone else's, I similarly break it down into the mental models of layout, structure, content, style, and the tools/software used to work with the documents.
tracker1
Nothing wrong with something that works... I used Balsamiq for years for this type of thing, but to each their own.
Note: not a fan of Balsamiq's current rent model... I bought a long time ago when it was < $100 for a regular license/download. Been a while since I used it.
stronglikedan
> Note: not a fan of Balsamiq's current rent model... I bought a long time ago when it was < $100 for a regular license/download. Been a while since I used it.
Me too, which is a shame, since I've found nothing that beats it's simplicity and speed of idea-to-wireframe.
skydhash
I have a balsamiq license, too. But I just bought a whiteboard, and in addition to helping me with diagrams, I’m hoping to create wireframe on it too. I will snapshot iterations with the phone camera.
The overall effect of Figma is probably net-negative because people start futzing with the visual/aesthetic aspects of an interface instead of working out the functional aspect as you would in a low-fidelity/paper/wireframe prototype.