Item: Freehand by InVision
Rating: 7
Author: Amanda Rufer

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use InVision Freehand when we are in our design discovery phase. We use it to organize inspiration - like screenshots from other companies/designs we like. We also use it to map out user flows and even some quick prototyping when we are in a meeting to explain an idea.

Pros and Cons

Provides a lot of flexibility
Allows you to see others working at the same time as you
Integrates well with the rest of the Invision suite

When I try moving flows where I have arrows between objects, the arrows stay in the same place
Prototyping could be more advanced
Ability to change font size verses just resizing the object

Most Important Features

Post-its
Flow diagrams
Ability to pull in as many images as we need
Commenting

Return on Investment

Efficiency in terms of keeping a documented source of truth for our team to reference
Enables collaboration between team members which leads to stronger ideas
Time savings in meetings because it keeps our teams organized and on-task

Alternatives Considered

Miro

InVision Freehand has many of the same features as Miro. Many of the templates even seem to be more helpful from Freehand than Miro because they are geared towards designers. Ultimately, we went with Freehand because we were already invested in the Invision+Sketch tools and this was a nice addition.

Key Insights

Do you think Freehand by InVision delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Freehand by InVision's feature set?

Yes

Did Freehand by InVision live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Freehand by InVision go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Freehand by InVision again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Atlassian Confluence, Slack, Sketch

Likelihood to Recommend

I like that InVision Freehand works really well for multiple people when working together. I think the brainstorming capabilities are huge! I also like that it feels like a seamless addition to the InVision suite of tools we already use. I also like that you can group Freehand docs in with the InVision spaces so that teams can represent an entire project together.

Users and Roles

The people who use the tool to collaborate are on the Product design team - UX Designers, UX Researchers and a UX Manager. We also have Product Managers who jump in and review the boards we create.

Support Headcount Required

Our UX Manager is primarily in charge of adding and adding users to the InVision Freehand tool. She also does this for all of the InVision suite. I don't have as much insight into this process. We also may have people from our internal support and IT teams who need to jump in and help as well.

Business Processes Supported

Collaborate with other designers
Document our discovery phase
Organize our thinking and user flows

Innovative Uses

Collaborative prep work before a meeting

Future Planned Uses

Explore more of the templates

Likelihood to Renew

Our design team is using InVision and Sketch for all of our prototypes and design systems. Because of this, we look to adopt as many of the other InVision tools as possible. I expect we would continue to use InVision and Freehand in the future as much as we always have.

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features

I would say our company prides itself on having the right tools in our toolbox to get the job done well. While price is important, we'd be willing to invest more in a product if that meant that we got all the right features we need. I would definitely say the features are most important to us.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I would not change my evaluation.

Implementation Rating

I was not a part of the implementation so I cannot comment on this but I did not hear any complaints.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Don't know

Support Rating

I haven't had to use the support team for anything, which is great news because that means the product usually works as expected! In terms of online support, I've been able to find videos that show how new features work. Also, many of the people I work with have experience with the tools so they are a great resource for me.

Freehand by InVision Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
None	None

Premium Support

Not needed

Usability

It is a very intuitive platform! I rarely feel confused when I'm using the tool. The only time I've struggled is when I was trying to move around elements that had arrows between them. The arrows seemed to stay pinned on the board and didn't move with everything else the way I expected.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	None

Easy Tasks

Drag and drop images
Post-it notes and shapes
Using boards for listing of items

Difficult Tasks

Arrows between objects
Text resizing
Moving user flows around

Great extension to the InVision suite of products

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with InVision Freehand