There are different schools on how to start the design of an iPhone app. Some will prefer designing on paper (I do), others will use the computer to design their next breath-taking GUI.
So here is a list of some of the tools, template to design your next iPhone application.
Templates:
- Keynote ’09: via MockApp
- Microsoft PowerPoint (WTF?): via MockApp
- OmniGraffle: via Patrick Crowley
- OmniGraffle: via Yahoo
- OmniGraffle: via Designing Web Interfaces
- Illustrator: via Mercury Intermedia
- PhotoShop: via Teehan+Lax
Specialized Tools
For pen & paper aficionados:
- Stainless steel stencil: iPhone Stencil Kit
- DesignCommission also provides a PDF template
- Sketch Paper in pdf: on labs.boulevard
- Printed SketchBook: Kaplan Software Group
In Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware, Andy Hunt recommends using pen and paper to use your right brain and free your creative mind. When using a computer, you will concentrate on the details, not the complete user experience.
Another drawback of using a computer: if you show your design to the client, he also will concentrate on the details (« can you change the shade of this red button? It’s TOO red. »). Showing a hand-drawn design will let him imagine how the final product will look. This can be a double-edged sword, so you better know what the customer is expecting before using one of these techniques.
App idea: draw controls on a white screen, have the app mockup build itself on the fly.
By the way, how does it come that there’s no iPhone mockup LaTeX package yet? 🙂