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Sketch: Proud to Build a Truly Native Mac App

sketch.com

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

#191

Post by achow »

Griffinsauce wrote: post #184
achow wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fan of Figma, but would switch to a better one in a heartbeat because of the following huge downside.. Once you are in Figma, you are trapped forever. No way to get out your original editable artwork files. Buyer beware!

That goes for nearly all design software...

Not really.

I could switch to Figma from Sketch very easily because I could upload my Sketch files in Figma and Figma could deconstruct them into layers and elements with even layer names intact!

Vice versa? No.

Even Photoshop files .PSD are readable in many other photo editing apps.

Figma.. no never.

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

#192

Post by dharma1 »

I find at least zooming in/out large project files to be much faster in Figma. Lack of good offline workflow sucks but the overall features and cross-compatibility means nearly everyone is moving to Figma.

Sketch isn’t bad software at all, but they are really losing out to the network effects of Figma. Design software isn’t like IDEs where everyone in an organisation can use their favourite one - orgs choose design tooling that is shared across the whole design team, and often used by the FE devs too to some degree.

I feel a little sorry for Sketch but if they are not going cross-platform, at this point the only thing Sketch can do to remain at least a little bit relevant is to develop features Figma doesn’t have, maybe some animation tools and scripting for more interactive prototypes, and find a niche in that.

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

#193

Post by jmnicolas »

rado wrote: post #157
hombre_fatal wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is a good example of the HN bubble which is one of the only places where "native macOS app" means anything to anybody. At least something more than "oh, I need to have a Macbook for that?" My girlfriend is a UX professional that does most of her work in Sketch. She doesn't care about macOS beyond the fact that it's required by the tools she has to use. I impulse-built an overpowered Windows machine earli…

Windows is broken spyware.

No it's the opposite: Windows is a functioning spyware.

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

#194

Post by rado »

jmnicolas wrote: post #193
rado wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows is broken spyware.

No it's the opposite: Windows is a functioning spyware.

Yes, functional spyware with broken UI. A dark mode explorer window is drawn in light mode for a split second and then painted black. It's ridiculous.

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

#195

Post by jmnicolas »

wavesplash wrote: post #75
josephg wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a property of native apps or web apps. As someone who's worked on a lot of collaborative technology, I find it weird how most of the interest in collaborative editing is confined to the web. As I understand it, Figma's internal collaborative engine is written in C++ anyway.

If I recall correctly, Figma's entire UI is C++ compiled down to webassembly.

If they went to the trouble to write it in C++ why use the browser instead of QT?

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

#196

Post by jcelerier »

Razengan wrote: post #145
Scarbutt wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What can Sketch do that Figma can't?

Better support for the built-in accessibility features of macOS.

I wonder how many people with visual accessibility issues would take a graphic design job

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

#197

Post by jamil7 »

chrysoprace wrote: post #66

Platform exclusivity should be discouraged, not praised. If I can't use the software then their supposed benefits of being native don't do me much good.

I think one the issues here was that sketch started as a very small indie mac app. In the case of one or two developers working on a niche product, exclusivity is forgivable. The problem is that sketch got way too popular, way too big and took investment and are now expected to compete with a competitor like figma.

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

#198

Post by tonyedgecombe »

LegitShady wrote: post #168
voodoomagicman wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a really useful free tier - I think the paid tier mostly includes collaboration features.

I had a recent experience with autodesk that shows that free tiers can disappear or be neutered after you've invested significant time and energy into them. If you just owned that version of the software it would work forever instead you are at the mercy of the platform forever. Caveat emptor

It's not just free tiers. Imagine the comments here in a decades time when Figma goes full Adobe and starts to squeeze every last drop of blood out of their customer base.

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

#199

Post by Someone »

achow wrote: post #191
Griffinsauce wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That goes for nearly all design software...

Not really. I could switch to Figma from Sketch very easily because I could upload my Sketch files in Figma and Figma could deconstruct them into layers and elements with even layer names intact! Vice versa? No. Even Photoshop files .PSD are readable in many other photo editing apps. Figma.. no never.

I thought “if you’re in the EU, make a GDPR request for your data”.

However, the only page I found is https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041060434-Genera..., which says they’re committed to your privacy, but doesn’t mention data portability.

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

#200

Post by strogonoff »

noen wrote: post #173

Design is communication. I loved sketch and was a devout user for years. But with Sketch, I can only communicate with a very small set of people. It required a plethora of other tools and services to share, get feedback, or insights on my work. The tool is only as effective as the reach of its creation. If technology has shown us anything in this generation, it is that reach and collaboration are immensely more valua…

> Design is communication.

I assume it’s unintentional, but the rest of your comment twists the original meaning of the maxim[0]. In my experience, “design is communication” generally means a slightly less obvious thing: how through the medium of your design you communicate with the end user.

Your points about the importance of communication between designers are valid, but by using that maxim you make it sound like all design is done in teams, which isn’t fair—a single person can design a great product (and need none of the collaboration tools), if they do indeed understand their users well.

[0] Here’s a lovely article: https://jnd.org/design_as_communication/

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