Creative Uses of InVision for Your Next Project

InVision packs some punch as a prototyping platform. But did you know it also offers a host of tools designed to meet designers’ needs throughout their entire process?

Here are five non-prototyping features that might make your life a whole lot easier.

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LiveShare: Real-time, remote presentation and collaboration

While all kinds of designers know InVision for its powerful prototyping tools, some overlook the presentation power we’ve packed inside. An InVision prototype alone makes for a super effective way to walk people through your designs — and it’s even better with Tours (see below).

But LiveShare takes your presentations to a whole new level. With it, you can invite your team (or clients, stakeholders, etc.) into a shared space to discuss design decisions as if you’re sitting across the table from each other.

In LiveShare, users can chat via voice or text, while one presenter controls the presentation. It’s a great way to host design walkthroughs and build kickoffs, walking the entire team through the game plan while discussing any possible questions or concerns.

And with LiveShare PS (our free plugin for Photoshop), you can bring your team right into your favorite design tool at any stage of the process. Can’t decide between several layout options? Invite your colleagues to join you, inside your PSD, live. So your client loves the flow, but wants to make a couple of little visual tweaks? Bring them into your PSD and get them done in real time.

Constant real-time collaboration with LiveShare lets you get everyone on the same page, telling the same story.

LiveCapture: Take better screenshots

LiveCapture lets you grab full-page screenshots and single images and save them right to InVision. That makes it easy to:

Gather design inspiration
Grab assets for a new mood board
Incorporate live web pages in your prototypes
Comment on existing web pages for audits

While a lot of designers build prototypes from wireframes or high-fidelity design files, there’s plenty of value in just snapping pages right from the web. It’s a great place to start when you’re trying to diagnose a problem, dream up a new feature, or adopt an existing flow. Just snap a few key views and round up the team for kickoff.

Project management

Once your project’s filled with your design files or Snaps, you can use InVision comments to leave feedback right on the prototype. And when you’ve acted on — or convincingly argued against — that feedback, you can mark the comment as complete. It’s like having a to-do app built right into your prototype.

Compared to the long, text-heavy, bullet-ridden emails detailing tiny changes you’re used to, a visual changelog overlaid on the actual design feels like a gift from the heavens. Seeing notes in their original context is invaluable, especially for non-designers, or folks who aren’t as familiar with the finer details of a project.

You can get notified of new comments both in-app and via email, and Comment Mode tracks which comments you’ve viewed so you and your team will never miss a thing.

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Whiteboarding

As time-tested as daily standups and Red Bulls in the break room, whiteboards can be a powerful collaboration and ideation tool. That’s why we built them right into InVision.

You can pull up a whiteboard during a LiveShare session to illustrate your ideas for design tweaks, or start from a blank slate anytime you’re in the app.

Drawing on top of a prototype might seem blunt, but ask John Madden — drawing right on top of the screen with a big colorful line is a great way to get your point across.

Tours

When you’ve spent hours making thoughtful design decisions, explaining them to the team or client is pretty dang important. When you can’t do it in person or with LiveShare, Tours offer a clean way to present your rationale, in order and in context.

Creating a tour is easy, and works just like leaving comments. Just click, explain, and repeat. Guided tours of complex new flows ensure that everyone’s in sync.

Powerful products look simple—but pack complex functionality

Whether you use InVision for one-off prototypes, stylish presentations, or complete project management, we think you’ll find it does the job just right.

How do you use InVision in your day-to-day design work?

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