A beginner’s guide to Indigo Studio

Have you ever spent days toiling over a problem, only for someone to come say “hey, there’s a tool which helps you do that in half the time”?

 

If you’ve never heard of Indigo Studio before, today’s post looks to help you understand what exactly it does, and what benefits it can provide you and your business. If you’re already acquainted with Indigo, don’t think this post isn’t for you. We’ve included both the basics and some special features you might not be aware of.

 

Indigo is unique because unlike other software out there, it’s a suitable tool for building prototypes no matter how technically gifted or knowledgeable you are. By the end of today’s post you and Indigo should be well-acquainted and you’ll be itching to get prototyping.

 

What is Indigo?

Let’s start with what exactly Indigo Studio is. In short, it’s a rapid prototyping tool that lets you explore software UI design concepts quickly, while requiring very little technical knowledge.

One of the main reasons Indigo is growing in popularity is that it’s all about rapid, code-free prototyping. We’ve designed it from the ground up with the user in mind from the beginning. Interactions are central to creating the best user experience, and Interaction Design (IxD) prototyping is built into its core.

 

A little about us

So who are the people behind Indigo? At Infragistics, we are proud to have 25 years of experience working with over 500 companies and a million developers - we know our way around UX design! But we don’t want to just hide behind the numbers, our main goal is (and always will be) to help developers create great applications that center around a rich, engaging UX.    

Indigo Studio was designed with interaction designers (UX designers and information architects) in mind. Nonetheless, we believe we’ve made the tool comprehensible and usable by other, less-technical users too. You see, we understand that a successful IT development project always depends on communication between a variety of stakeholders. UX designers and clients need to communicate with one another in order to clarify what the final tool should look and feel like. Developers should be able to understand what customers want from an app or piece of software. Prototypes, storyboard and wireframes should be shared between all these different teams. And Indigo Studio makes this possible.

 

The all important ‘why?’

So now you know a little bit about what Indigo can do, but what makes it so special?

Whilst there are many perfectly good prototyping tools out there, very few - if any at all - are crafted specifically with UI design in mind. That is mainly due to the fact that of all those tools, static wireframes and clickable mockups take up the entirety of what’s on offer. With Indigo, you can of course design static wireframes and create clickable mockups; we don’t want to disregard the basics. Nonetheless, the UI landscape is already flooded with half decent prototyping tools; we knew designers needed something more.

 

• Storyboarding - Create a story that involves the user and prototype simultaneously, integrating prototype screens into real-life scenarios for a design more centered around the user than any other. 

 

With the fusion between user and prototype that the storyboarding tool brings, you don’t just start with users in mind, but keep them tied into the exploration and evolution of your designs as you progress through the iterations and increasing levels of fidelity. You’re also not limited to stills of your prototype, as you can actually run them within your storyboard. 

• iOS support - Full iPhone and iPad support makes it easier than ever to create beautiful iOS-specific designs. Over 30 interactive iOS controls, 15 iOS icons and 13 built in screen-to-screen transitions.

 

Comprehensive mobile and tablet implementation means you can explore what your design would look like on the go.

• UI Libraries - Reusable Screen Parts give your prototypes consistency and professionalism.

 

UI Libraries makes the hassle of mimicking your own designs over and over again a thing of the past. You can start as normal, customizing over the default UI elements, and from then it’s a simple as selecting ‘convert to screenpart’ to add it to the screenpart library for re-use at any time.

Go out there and get creative

Indigo is available on the Infragistics website where you can download a free 30-day-trial. You can also check out the online pricing guide to see which package is the right one for you. Now that you’re no longer a beginner when it comes to Indigo studio, you have no excuse not to get up and running and create the next top seller on the app store.