Evaluation of Sketch-Based and Semantic-Based Modalities for Mockup Generation

Design mockups are essential instruments for visualizing and testing design ideas. However, the process of generating mockups can be time-consuming and challenging for designers. In this article, we present and evaluate two different modalities for generating mockup ideas to support designers in their work: (1) a sketch-based approach to generate mockups based on hand-drawn sketches, and (2) a semantic-based approach to generate interfaces based on a set of predefined design elements. To evaluate the effectiveness of these two approaches, we conducted a series of experiments with 13 participants in which we asked them to generate mockups using each modality. Our results show that sketch-based generation was more intuitive and expressive, while semantic-based generative AI obtained better results in terms of quality and fidelity. Both methods can be valuable tools for UI designers looking to increase their creativity and efficiency.