Fluid UI is a robust, browser-based wireframing and prototyping tool developed by Fluid Software, designed to facilitate the creation of mobile touch interfaces and other interactive prototypes. Here’s a detailed overview of what the product does and its key features:
What Fluid UI Does
Fluid UI is an HTML5-based tool that enables user interface designers to rapidly create prototypes by arranging pre-built widgets within a drag-and-drop WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. This tool is particularly useful during the requirements stage of app development, allowing for quick iteration and collaboration between users and clients.
Key Features
Component Library
Fluid UI offers a vast library of over 2000 built-in components, including those from Material Design, iOS, Windows, and Wireframe libraries. This extensive library allows designers to choose the right elements for their prototypes without needing to create everything from scratch.
Interactive Prototyping
The tool allows designers to create interactive web and mobile prototypes with various gestures such as taps, swipes, and clicks. The linking system is simple and intuitive, enabling the creation of interactive screen flows that show how different pages relate to each other.
Collaborative Design
Fluid UI supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple team members to work on prototypes simultaneously. The platform saves all work in the cloud, making it immediately available to the entire team. This feature includes the ability to set up prototyping meetings, engage in video calls while prototyping, and share ideas in real-time.
Animations and Visual Effects
Designers can enhance their prototypes with different page animations, such as pop-in, fade-in, flip, or simple show effects, which help bring the prototype to life and make it more engaging.
Review and Feedback
Fluid UI includes a reviewer mode where anyone can be invited to click through the prototype, add annotations, and engage in discussions. The tool also supports live video presentations and the ability to add, respond to, and resolve comments, facilitating seamless feedback incorporation into the prototype.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
The tool runs smoothly on Firefox and Chrome browsers and offers desktop clients for a native performance boost. Additionally, there are mobile apps for Android and iOS to preview prototypes on mobile devices as they are designed.
User Testing
Fluid UI allows for remote user testing sessions, enabling designers to observe how users interact with the prototype and gather feedback directly from the users.
Support
The platform provides built-in chat support available 16 hours a day, ensuring that users can get assistance whenever needed.
In summary, Fluid UI is a powerful prototyping tool that streamlines the design process with its extensive component library, real-time collaboration features, interactive prototyping capabilities, and robust feedback mechanisms, making it an essential tool for user interface designers and development teams.
