About

UI Stencils was started in 2008 with the single notion that nothing beats the direct connection between hand, pencil, and paper. We make tools that help designers and creators capture the essence of an idea at the very start of the iteration process.

In the past 10 years, the proliferation of web-based software and mobile apps has led to the birth of a new industry: Making the Internet more enjoyable, easy to use, and effective. At the forefront of this movement are designers, developers, leaders, and teams; whose design skills, process, and thinking are now big business. The ability to pull it off — or not — can determine the value of the company.

User Experience is no different than architecture or industrial product design — ideas are formed on paper. It can be the start of a big idea, or a sketch of an existing detail.

The path of least resistance is not keyboard and mouse but reaching for pencil and paper. UI Stencils' mission is to provide sketching tools and resources for designers, developers, and their teams. We think your best ideas form on paper and whiteboard.

Sketching and communicating visually is a powerful skill. It’s a great way to keep an open mind — expanding on an idea and exploring possibilities. It’s a great way to gather consensus — getting a group of people on board with an idea. It’s a great way to move quickly — instead of trying to articulate a concept verbally, drawing makes it easily understandable.

Sketching is a skill that can be acquired; it takes practice and confidence in yourself. We encourage anyone who works in the industry to develop the habit. Carry a sketchbook. Draw in meetings. Surround yourself with the tools you need to become a visual thinker.

Let’s get sketching!