This document discusses different media used to communicate architectures and their messages. It focuses on giant low-fidelity paper wireframes, explaining that they signal that a project is important but not final, encourage collaboration, and allow users to experience a proposed environment without design details. While helpful for consensus building and fun, they are not meant as final deliverables, and are less practical for remote teams or small iterations than digital formats.

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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay
GIANT
LOW-FIDELITY
ANALOG
WIREFRAMES
Jessie DuVerneay
The Understanding Group
@undrstndng

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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay
LA SAGRADA FAMILIA
Antoni Gaudi
Barcelona, Spain

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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

4. “THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE.”
- Marshall McLuhan
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

5. THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE =
The format chosen to transmit the
message impacts how the message is
received and understood by people.
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

6. What different messages can we extract
from these various media?
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay
https://dinneratmidnight.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/week_9-61.jpg

9. Large-Scale Paper Wireframes
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

10. Large-Scale Paper Wireframes
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

11. Large-Scale Paper Wireframes
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

13. What different messages can our clients
extract from the media we typically use
to communicate our architectures?
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay
GIANT
LOW-FIDELITY
ANALOG
WIREFRAMES

15. The Message
1. This is big and serious and important.
2. But, it’s not permanent or reality or your actual website.
3. Some details are missing and that’s ok – focus on the sense of environment
and not the design details right now.
4. This is what it may feel like for users to be “in” your website – this is a good
proxy for understanding the place your website will be.
5. Nothing is sacred or set in stone yet – this is just a giant paper model of what
could be.
6. Let’s play with it together and make the space even better!
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

16. Large-Scale Paper Wireframes
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

17. Pros of This Method
1. Media is appropriate for the message: “This is big and serious and
important, but it’s not permanent or reality; let’s play with it together.”
2. Immersive experience allows for and Encourages Embodied Cognition
(Can feel architectural Place-ness of system or service w/o getting
stuck in the design details)
3. Practioner Can Work with their Tool of Choice in Creation
4. Take the Fussy-ness or myopic focus out of the Initial WF Review
Process
5. Encourages Collaboration and Consensus in Real Time
6. Can Be Incredibly Fun
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

18. Cons of This Method
1. Not Meant to be a Final Deliverable from Which to Build, Not a
Final Design or Functional Specification
2. Harder to Rapidly Iterate Daily
3. Not Helpful at all with a Distributed / Remote Team
4. May be Impractical for Small Spaces
5. Might be rough for people used to working Fully Digital, or for
folks with mobility or accessibility needs.
6. Extra Cost & Time to Project
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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay

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Jessica DuVerneay of The Understanding Group | @jduverneay
THANKS!
QUESTIONS?
Jessie DuVerneay
The Understanding Group
@undrstndng