Mockups are used by UX designers to help visualize their ideas to other team members and to get feedback from end users. Because mockups can be used by special software which requires no programming, they are often quick to make. There is some dispute about what the right fidelity, or level of detail, a mockup should be. One the one hand there are those who think they can get the best feedback from stakeholders from a mockup that looks and feels exactly like a final application. On the other hand, some designers believe that by having feedback early on for sketches they make, they can save time.
As with many design workflows, there is no right level of detail to choose. You need to think about your team and the stakeholders you work with. Would they benefit from seeing how the final application might look? Do you think they would be more likely to critique your work if they were fully aware that you were working on a mockup that could be changed easily? In that case, a low-fidelity mockup in a sketched look may be best. You can also choose how detailed you want the interactions in your mockup to be. I have seen many examples of UX designers using paper in a way to create interactions by folding the paper in certain ways. This is a unique approach, which will show to end users that your design is really a sketch. For many projects, however I use a high-fidelity prototyping tool that enables me to simulate interactions on a mobile or tablet device. This produces a reliable form of feedback and enables me to try out my design on a range of different-sized devices.
