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Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

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Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#121

Post by Justsignedup »

parhamn wrote: post #85

One thing I think people aren't pointing out is how much Figma seems to have done [1] to make the web platform work for them in the way Sketch is describing the Mac App. It almost seems like a technical moat of sorts. Achieving the ridiculous snappiness Figma in browsers is certainly non-trivial. [1] https://www.figma.com/blog/building-a-professional-design-to...

figma is pretty freaken amazing, and it works outside of macs. So overall there is nothing but upsides to it. Collaboration is amazing too. Just... No down sides.

Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#122

Post by gumby »

p0nce wrote: post #100

As a native desktop app developer, I feel like on the contrary it's very important to insulate from most of the OS APIs as users have come to expect availability on whatever desktop platform they are using. The Discord app has great UX and UI, arguably better than most native app and is exactly the same across all desktop OSes. "Apple tried and tested frameworks", what does that even means. It's not like other OSes c…

I want the apps on my machine to have standard conventions for that platform, not alien conventions.

Having a standard UX across platforms optimized for the uncommon case. The more common case is that the user sticks to one platform so learning an astandard set of conventions is a barrier.

Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#123

Post by talentedcoin »

yesimahuman wrote: post #13

I respect them for sticking to this, but I think it's a mistake. It's clear users in general don't care about an app being pure Mac OS controls/SDKs/etc. and their claims about it being a truly superior UX are unfounded (having used both regularly, Figma disproves that heavily). With this, Sketch isn't available on Windows nor the web (until very recently it seems?). I wouldn't die on that hill.

Totally agreed. And, although the site is definitely cool, isn't it kind of ironic? It's a paen to native-only Mac apps back in the System 9 days, when the developer experience and design language was totally different. Macs don't even look, or work, like this anymore.

I think it's great that this is what they want to focus on, but it's not very convincing as a business decision in general -- it feels like doubling down on the past.

Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#124

Post by isodev »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #31
yesimahuman wrote: post #13

I respect them for sticking to this, but I think it's a mistake. It's clear users in general don't care about an app being pure Mac OS controls/SDKs/etc. and their claims about it being a truly superior UX are unfounded (having used both regularly, Figma disproves that heavily). With this, Sketch isn't available on Windows nor the web (until very recently it seems?). I wouldn't die on that hill.

I agree with you, and I think this is a pretty good signal that Sketch is REALLY feeling the heat from Figma, because they aren't offering a better argument besides "we're native". The bandwagon has clearly jumped off Sketch and onto Figma, and not because it's "fashionable", but because Figma is plain awesome.

Figma is not a viable alternative if you're anything but a digital designer.

There are still print designers, packaging designers, exhibit designers, illustrators, the list goes on. I don’t see Sketch as dead, if anything it’s been getting a lot of cool new features over the past months.

Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#125

Post by weixiyen »

whoisjuan wrote: post #46

Figma is eating them brutally. I'm a designer and everyone I know (and their companies) are moving away from Sketch. Figma understood that the breakthrough of this market is to create a platform, not a tool. Building a native app is not going to help you win this market. That's for sure.

Can confirm, we've been using Sketch since very early days, long before it was popular, and every single designer we have knows it like the back of their hand. We made the switch last year to Figma (just to test), and now it's 100% Figma.

Sketch is a great individual tool, but Figma is a great organizational tool.

For Sketch to write this means they don't plan on competing with Figma, I assume because it would likely put them behind multiple years in R&D.

Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#126

Post by mortenjorck »

martinald wrote: post #77
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you, and I think this is a pretty good signal that Sketch is REALLY feeling the heat from Figma, because they aren't offering a better argument besides "we're native". The bandwagon has clearly jumped off Sketch and onto Figma, and not because it's "fashionable", but because Figma is plain awesome.

The thing IMO that really killed Sketch was not being able to share Sketch files with non-Mac users and let them open them up. They should have at least created a Windows/Linux (or web) viewer. They don't need edit functionality but nearly always someone in the approval/feedback process of a mockup will not be on Mac. It's just not realistic at larger orgs (or IMO smaller ones too) to expect everyone to be on a Mac.…

Sketch has had an integrated cloud sharing feature for awhile. You click two buttons in the app, and you have a shareable, comment-able page or prototype.

Figma’s first-mover advantage is significant, though.

Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#127

Post by jnymck »

marrone12 wrote: post #37
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you, and I think this is a pretty good signal that Sketch is REALLY feeling the heat from Figma, because they aren't offering a better argument besides "we're native". The bandwagon has clearly jumped off Sketch and onto Figma, and not because it's "fashionable", but because Figma is plain awesome.

Yep. Our company switched to Figma and it's been leaps and bounds better for productivity. Having multiple people working on the same design file at the same time has been huge.

Why?

Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#128

Post by jnymck »

Scarbutt wrote: post #91
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like to write native apps (Swift). I won’t go into why (as everyone here seems to be trying to convince everyone else, who aren’t really listening, anyway. I’m not really looking to change my viewpoint). Figma is cool. I’m working with a designer, now, and we’ll see how it goes. Not sure I’d really say it was a direct Sketch competitor, though. I think Adobe Illustrator is Sketch’s biggest competitor, and that says…

What can Sketch do that Figma can't?

Custom keyboard shortcuts

Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#129

Post by valuearb »

parhamn wrote: post #85

One thing I think people aren't pointing out is how much Figma seems to have done [1] to make the web platform work for them in the way Sketch is describing the Mac App. It almost seems like a technical moat of sorts. Achieving the ridiculous snappiness Figma in browsers is certainly non-trivial. [1] https://www.figma.com/blog/building-a-professional-design-to...

It’s snappy for a web app. If it was a native app it would be mediocre.

Re: Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

#130

Post by valuearb »

snarkypixel wrote: post #67
eyelidlessness wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I care about it, and if the software was available to buy I would pay a premium for it as I’ve done before. That’s why I landed on the Mac platform. In the “bad” old days, the only major developers were Mac die hards, and very little of the platform felt foreign or unconventional. Now, the only thing keeping me on the Mac platform is muscle memory and a few lucky (hardware) strikes.

Design is a team sport, so what you need to ask yourself is does the whole team prefer to use a native mac app vs browser? RIP sketch

Since when? I’m a mobile developer, which means I consume Figma designs, I don’t change them. And Sketch works much better for my needs.
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