What tool do you design the site with?

Question

infographics

The question is extremely short and in it I would like to accumulate your experience in the very initial stage of creating sites - their design.
My problem is that I'm visual: my RAM is constantly busy with something, and nothing stays there for long; I have to draw or write down many things every 5 minutes, but my second problem is that I rarely read what I wrote myself. This is not because of laziness, it’s just that in the process of reading I “anticipate” the next words and I get bored reading further; the feeling that "I know this by heart" does not leave me.
Question:
What design tools do you prefer to use when creating a site?
PS: for example, when developing a MySQL database, I sincerely like to use Workbench - it gives a visualization of the structure of tables and their relationships, besides, it generates code and does a great job as a client.
UPD:
Many thanks to all of you for participating in the issue! I marked moqups.com
with the decision , because this is the only thing that I liked and came up with (in the sense of cross-platform and ubiquity). Here are the links suggested in the comments, so that someone suddenly saves their time. By links - products that provide the ability to create "drawings" (outlines) of sites. - Balsamiq Mockups , this is an environment in Adobe AIR, cross-platform, which allows you to make "drawings / sketches" of the site. The installation is local. There is
online demo . I didn’t really like it purely aesthetically, plus “locality”.
- OmniGraffle , on the screenshots it looks beautiful and multifunctional, but, unfortunately, the option is only for happy owners of Apple products, to which I am not, so I can’t say anything in essence.
- Axure about $600 for a personal license; products for Windows/MacOS only. It looks quite impressive, orders of magnitude more impressive than the same moqups, but I personally am not ready to change the OS and pay $600. But the advice is definitely a plus.

Answer 1

For GUI prototyping, there is also Moqups

Answer 2

A4 sheets, a set of colored pens, a ruler, a pencil.

Answer 3

habrahabr.ru/company/aiken/blog/129653/

Answer 4

I would advise you to develop memory and imagination. I myself had a similar problem: it was difficult to fit the whole picture in my head, I had to draw and write something down. At the same time, some part of the information was always lost. Then I decided to abandon any tools and keep everything in my head. At first it was difficult, but then my brain got used to it and now I can create detailed three-dimensional interaction schemes in my head, twist them as I like and remember for a long time :) Tools are, of course, good, but my own brain is better)

Answer 5

Word to record thoughts
www.balsamiq.com/products/mockups
MySQL Workbench
is enough for now

Answer 6

At the moment I'm using:

• Dia for database schemas;
• Adobe Illustrator for drawing up workflow and other schemes;
• Adobe Photoshop for sketching screens and interfaces;
• Evernote and Google Docs for text notes;
• A4 paper sheets and a pencil, no one has canceled either.

I'm thinking, instead of Dia, to find a convenient Case tool with the ability to convert schemas to SQL and vice versa (with a database migration log) or do everything in Illustrator.
By the way, try it, Edraw Mindmap is a free vector brainstorm editor for diagrams, diagrams, etc. I will never try it myself. In general, Edraw has many products that can be considered as alternatives to MS Visio , but they are also paid.

Answer 7

The prototype of the site is Axure, although there is doubt that this is correct. But in terms of designing a database schema - DeZign for Databases, from my point of view, is generally the only modern sane product for a reasonable price.

Answer 8

First, I throw in ideas. Or on paper (this is not even a text with theses, but some kind of notes. Often in the form of lines, circles and other symbols incomprehensible to the surrounding people).
It helps a lot to put things in order - mindmap. I am using XMind. On complex projects, I have two maps: one with ideas for the site (and questions), and the second is a sitemap.
I make the first sketches of the site scheme with a pencil on paper. I'm used to working with A5 (half of a regular sheet). I don't use rubber. So I form a general concept.
Further, for the designer, I transfer the schemes to Axure (I am very much looking for an analogue). It usually ends with pictures.
If the project is complex, then I make interactive prototypes with different scenarios. I show such a prototype to the client and explain everything (click here - this is it, and here - this is it). Very helpful in discussion.
In short: there is no place without paper. For myself, it’s easier to fix the idea somehow with a pencil. The main thing is that it should not be text. The text is too lazy to write and it does not reflect thoughts. And then, if necessary, then schemes or prototypes

Answer 9

Pencil, somewhere here was an article about him on Habré.

Answer 10

I'm not a professional in this business, it's more like a hobby, I do the following:
Initially on A4, then in OmniGraffle I draw a not too detailed layout, I place all the ideas that come to mind in text blocks on this layout. Then I print out the layout and add new ideas by hand.
If a database is used, I draw a database architecture diagram with links in the same OmniGraffle.
In Numbers I make a table with columns url / page description / access level.
Only then do I sit down to bring the idea to life.
ps Earlier on Windows instead of OmniGraffle I used MS Viso, and under Linux I used Dia.

Answer 11

Google docs (notes, docks, tables, diagrams - the set is enough, and it's easy to fumble).
The database used to be designed in Workbench, now more often in a text file in the form of plain SQL with comments.
It is also quite convenient to use Redmine with its tracker and wiki.