Comparison Paint Vs iPlotz....
I have used both program to create my wireframes for my
website. Both programs where fairly easy to work with, yet iPlotz because it
was an online program it allowed me to edit the design from every computer with
a internet access which makes the designing, easier to keep track of and most
of all access. Paint is a program which is pre-installed on all PC’s, the
images draw are saved as JPG or PNG file type formats which later they can
still be edited. iPlotz is a paid for
service but does offer 5 designs where users can try it for free, in paint the
user can make as many different pictures as she/he may want.
Boxes:
Both of the programs allowed drawing of boxes, they were
easy gain control of and scale up or down, in paint after placing the box down
there is no going back to it , to get re-sized, in iPlotz you change it at any
point making it easier to work with. In
paint I used these boxes for every section for my work, in iPlotz I found other
tools which I used to demonstrate the work such as pre set image boxes to demonstrate
where there will be images.
Images:
Or otherwise known as components are tools which are used to
demonstrate the items of the webpage, this was only available in iPlotz. Unlike
paint where if I was to use such images they would have to be pasted from
another file. This made my work so much more easier as I didn’t have to write
down each time what the box drawn actually represents this way I was able to
create the wireframe quicker and easier on iPlotz than paint.
Pre-set size:
When starting a new wire frame on iPlotz I was able to set
the size of my webpage with one button at 800x600 or 1024x768, rather than
guessing what the size should be as I had to do so in paint. Paint made the
size difficult to guess, I had to go by my instincts in order to think of what
the size is going to be. IPlotz also had
different pre set size where wireframes can be created for iphone or android,
which it might be a useful tool to use when creating the site for these users.
Which deals which other devices all-in –all to get rid of the guessing to tell
true sizes which pages require to be.
Colour:
Both programs offered a wide range of colours, iPlotz however
was a little bit better since it actually say what the colour’s number 339900. This
will be a very useful when the time comes to physically design the website on
notepad as the number can be just re-entered and the same colour will come up. To
achieve the same colour from paint on the actual website will be difficult
since it will involve a lot of guessing what the colour is. Colour is important
to be used in the wireframes since they would give a idea of how the page will finally
come to look like. I have used colours when designing the wireframes this way I
would know what I need to produce and whether it will look good before actually
seeing it online.
Grid/Tabs and Alignment Lines:
These tools where only available on iPlotz. I have used
these tools to correct and make sure the alignment of the components is true, so
they are set as they should be and the right amount of space is left where it
should be required. Paint didn’t have this kind of option instead I went and aligned
the components by eye, in some places meant the boxes are not centred or are of
design and moved over and place as they shouldn’t be. I used this throughout the 5 pages and aligned
the wire map so it had the necessary symmetry and made good sense of how it
will look like.
Zoom
Both programs had a zoom tool, allowing the page to be
zoomed out and seen as a whole but also zoomed in so it’s seen as the viewer
will see it on their browser, yet of course because paint didn’t have a preset
size this was difficult. This tool did help out since it allowed me to zoom
right in to achieve a precise alignment of the components. I used this tool on
both programs to achieve what I want.
History:
This tool was only available on iPlotz it allowed me to
change some of the lay out but then set it back as it was previously when I like
it. But also allowing me to go forward again and re reset the lay out. It’s
good as it gave me options of before and after between a bigger time period.
Paint has a undo and a redo function but after 10 clicks or so it can’t go as
back into the history as iPlotz does through out history.
Sent to tool:
This tool in iPlotz allowed items to be seen on the back or
forward among one another such as having them on thing or behind them. In paint
this tool does not exist you don’t have the freedom of choosing how items over
lap, instead they would require to be draw bottom layer first. I have used this
tool for the top title bar so the logo is over the green background.
