What Is Roughly.app?
Roughly.app is an AI-powered design tool that transforms rough sketches into professional-quality designs. Draw a wireframe on paper or a tablet, upload it, and Roughly converts it into a polished UI design, illustration, or architectural rendering.
How It Works
1. Draw your rough sketch (paper, iPad, Wacom, or in-browser)
2. Upload or draw directly in Roughly's canvas
3. Select a style (UI design, illustration, architecture, product design)
4. AI transforms your sketch into a polished version
5. Download as PNG, SVG, or Figma file
Use Cases We Tested
UI Wireframes to Mockups (8.5/10)
We drew 10 rough wireframes for mobile and web interfaces. Roughly converted them into clean mockups with proper spacing, typography, and color schemes. The results were good enough for client presentations and developer handoff.
What worked: Basic layouts, card-based designs, navigation patterns
What struggled: Complex data visualizations, custom animations
Rough Illustrations (7.5/10)
Hand-drawn character sketches and scene compositions were converted into cleaner digital illustrations. The style options range from flat design to detailed renders. Results were mixed -- simple illustrations looked great, complex scenes lost detail.
Architecture Sketches (8.0/10)
Floor plans and building sketches were converted into presentable renders. Useful for initial concept presentations to clients.
What We Liked
Bridges the ideation gap. The hardest part of design is going from idea to first draft. Roughly eliminates that friction by letting you sketch freely and then polishing automatically.
Multiple style outputs. Generate the same sketch in different styles to explore directions quickly.
Figma export. The ability to export to Figma means you can continue refining in your professional design tool.
Iteration speed. Generate 5 polished variations in the time it takes to manually create one.
What Could Be Better
Pricing
Verdict: 7.9/10
Roughly.app solves a real problem: turning rough ideas into presentable designs quickly. It is not a replacement for a professional designer, but it is an excellent tool for ideation, rapid prototyping, and early-stage design exploration. Developers who need to mock up ideas before involving a designer will find it particularly useful.
Best for: Developers, product managers, and designers who want to rapidly prototype ideas from sketches.