Fidelity Spectrum: Low, Mid, and High-Fidelity

Wireframes exist along a progressive fidelity spectrum:

• Low-Fidelity (Lo-Fi): Quick pen-and-paper sketches or basic whiteboard drawings. Highly disposable, taking minutes to create. Best for early brainstorming and eliminating bad ideas fast.
• Mid-Fidelity (Mid-Fi): Digital wireframes created in tools like Figma. Rendered strictly in grayscale with placeholder boxes and standardized UI components. Best for validating layout with engineers and stakeholders.
• High-Fidelity (Hi-Fi): Pixel-perfect mockups containing real imagery, brand typography, and production colors. Best for user testing visual appeal and final design system assembly.