[Sigia-l] The fuzzy line btwn IA and Design

[Christina Wodtke]

Excuse me while I resurrect a thread:

Why do we draw webpages?

Rereading Joel on Software series on how to write a functional spec,
< http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000034.html >
I read "When you're designing a web-type service, a good way to do this is
to give every possible screen a canonical name, and provide a chapter
describing each one in utter and mind-numbing detail."  and thought, that's
a wireframe. Why not just outline page elements, noting their relationships?

Dan Brown and I have been discussing for some time creating flowchart-type
screen specs. All elements and their heirachy are noted in a visual
language, but not in one that dictates layout.

Why do we draw wireframes, or at least, why do we give these to people who
are (at least theorectically) far better equiped to draw screens than we
are? We do IA's make wireframes? I know it's easier for some, I know it's
more fun for some folks, but is it truely the best way to articulate our
solution in a team in which that is not our responsibility?

My 2 cnts.