Informal, sketch-based design tools closely match the work practices
of user interface designers. Current tools, however, are limited in
the size and complexity of interac-tion that can be specified. We have
created an advanced sketch-based visual language that allows for easy
proto-typing of large, complex interactive designs. In its current
embodiment in the DENIM web design tool, the visual lan-guage allows
designers to sketch reusable components for recurring page elements,
such as navigation bars, as well as conditionals to illustrate and
test transitions that depend on a user's input. Designers can also
specify sites that accept richer user input than simple clicking. Our
infor-mal evaluation shows that these features allow designers with
little programming experience to quickly create pro-totypes of large,
complex web sites while still working inside an informal, sketch-based
environment.
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