In 1995, to create web graphics, I learned how to use Adobe Photoshop. It was the first software (along with Notepad) I learned to make websites. In 98 Macromedia Fireworks was released as the first serious tool for creating graphics for the web. I started using it in 1999. It was awesome. It had symbols (a way to use common elements across my designs). I never understood why people continued to use Photoshop which is a photo editing tool to make websites. Adobe bought Macromedia and I used Adobe Fireworks for almost 20 years, even after it was discontinued. I waited a year for Sketch to add symbols. Then I switched from Fireworks to Sketch. I loved Sketch. I was very very happy to use such a lightweight and elegant design tool ... but then Figma came along. I really didn't want to switch from my favourite design tool but last year I understood it is just too amazing to ignore. I switched from Sketch to Figma in a day and now I have a design system.
Why Figma Wins
161–170 of 191 posts
Re: Why Figma Wins
#162I'm mostly a front end dev and previously I jumped directly into code and implemented whatever I had in mind without any clear direction (which should not have been the case at all). But after hearing about Figma, I first created a mockup of what I had in mind and just straight up designed for 2-3 days till I was satisfied and then dove into code.
Needless to say, it was a game changer as it increased my productivity as I had a clear goal in mind. I'm never going to delve straight into code w/o a clear design henceforth.
Re: Why Figma Wins
#163Can anyone explain why adobe XD's platform isn't dominating the design tools discussion? They keep improving it with the backing of Adobe (army of devs) and the expertise of creative cloud, along with their community design plugins and remote collab features they just added to the platform. I'm able to quickly mock up designs with ease.
Adobe were caught napping a little. Sketch built a big community of users with a focus on UI design. Neither Photoshop or Illustrator are optimised for these tasks.
Sketch felt nimble and lightweight compared to Adobe's apps to a lot of designers. And it reflected modern designer workflows. The chance to break out of Adobe's embrace probably appealed to many designers too. Adobe realised they had no app to address the 'experience design' process. The result was a new app: Adobe XD.
But XD came late to the game while Sketch's popularity and influence grew. The XD UI has clearly been influenced by Sketch.
The sheer size of Adobe means that XD is being used (it comes as part of Creative Cloud, but it's also free for anyone to use to encourage takeup). But XD doesn't have 'mindshare' among many designers compared to Sketch or Figma.
There is something similar playing out on the iPad. You would think that Adobe would own the digital painting space here. But they don't (at least, not yet) - it's Procreate that illustrators are flocking to use, not Adobe's Fresco which is playing catch-up.
Re: Why Figma Wins
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
What does RP exactly do that you can't do in Figma? With the right plugins and component libraries, I dare say that Figma is definitely more powerful than Axure's offering.
Are there powerful prototyping plugins for Figma? I'd love it if the answer is yes. Axure is horrible for wireframing and a non-starter for visual design, but it has the most powerful prototyping features I've seen by a long shot. Framer is straight up writing React code, so I don't count that as an option for the vast majority of designers.
Why do you think Axure is horrible for wireframing?
Re: Why Figma Wins
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
sketch file is an open format[0]. figma will lock you in. there is no export project feature in figma https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038006274-Files-... that is why it is so easy to migrate into figma from sketch, and impossible to migrate away from figma into anything else... [0] https://github.com/sketch-hq/sketch-file-format
I hate to see another vendor lock in by file format like PSD to keep competitors out. It better be fixed before they become big enough not to care.
adobe, microsoft, et al. also faked the fix and incorrectly fixed it by exporting into other formats in a broken way. locking in makes sense from a VC point of view.
from my point of view the only way to guarantee is to use software that provides open file formats and develops their features around those open formats. inkscape and sketch seem to be doing this
Re: Why Figma Wins
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. In my company, your responsibility as a developer is to implement the design as shown on figma, pixel perfect. If something is incorrect on the design, someone will usually have noticed it and fixed it before I get the chance, because there are 4 sets of eyes on it (CTO, PM, Designers, Developer)
I hope this is sarcasm.
Seems pretty reasonable to me.
If it’s a rough wireframe it can be just that, rough.
If it’s a pixel perfect mockup then it’s a contract for final product IMO.
Of course whether there are that many sets of eyes on it depends how big a co you’re working for!
Re: Why Figma Wins
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hate to see another vendor lock in by file format like PSD to keep competitors out. It better be fixed before they become big enough not to care.
adobe, microsoft, et al. also faked the fix and incorrectly fixed it by exporting into other formats in a broken way. locking in makes sense from a VC point of view. from my point of view the only way to guarantee is to use software that provides open file formats and develops their features around those open formats. inkscape and sketch seem to be doing this
That's not going to work. People will take features over unknown future uncertainty. Users just have to realize the past mistakes of other companies and pressure the developers to open the format.
Re: Why Figma Wins
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Engineers are talking to designers. We really do love to pump ourselves up, don't we? My grandpa was an engineer who built bridges. I wouldn't dare call myself an "engineer" for slicing up a design, authoring markup and CSS, and sprinkling in a JS plugin or two.
You're being downvoted, but you're spot on. I can't quite put my finger on when the term "software developer" when out of vogue, but I suspect it has to do with titles at FAANG companies more than anything. At Google in Canada we are no longer supposed to refer to ourselves externally as software engineers, for legal reasons. We're software developers again. Which is how I have always thought of myself. Well, back in…
I guess there are levels. Computer engineering is a proper science, much much more deep and broad than mocking up a web page. And people study the science for years, the same as civil or aerospace engineers do, and get a label for that, called 'engineer'.
Same with a doctor. You study for that, get the label. You cannot/should call yourself a doctor if you just read some Wikipedia articles and listen to grandma tips and go applying band-aids and aspirins.
> Well, back in the 90s I called myself a "programmer." I miss that, too.
Oh man, so true. I miss it so much. Developer is such a vague term.. but in my little heart I still consider myself a programmer.
Re: Why Figma Wins
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course it’s leaky, but obviously the cases where engineers built the right thing on the first try because of the clear design are harder to measure. Also, look! Engineers are talking to designers.
> Engineers are talking to designers. We really do love to pump ourselves up, don't we? My grandpa was an engineer who built bridges. I wouldn't dare call myself an "engineer" for slicing up a design, authoring markup and CSS, and sprinkling in a JS plugin or two.
"a person trained and skilled in the design, construction, and use of engines or machines.." - [https://www.dictionary.com/browse/engineer]
I guess what it comes down to, is software a machine/engine? Also, the person who does the "slicing up a design, authoring markup and CSS, and sprinkling in a JS plugin or two" is or should be the designer, not the developer.
Re: Why Figma Wins
#170Interesting. I have a 2017 MBP, 16GB, 2.9 GHZ quad-core, and Figma feels terribly slow.