Abstract: In 2016, many great design tools are active in front of us, and some old design tools are also improving and adding many useful new features. This article introduces some of the design tools that deserve special attention in 2017, based on some of the most talked about design tools in the designer community.
01. Figma
As Sketch has become more popular, vector-based drawing software has also become more popular. Figma’s real-time collaboration features are particularly prominent in its core design tool set. Just as multiple programmers can add their own code to a project in real time, Figma allows multiple designers to work together remotely. You might think it’s rare to see multiple designers working on the same project in real time, but Figma would be the perfect solution for a scenario that this designer often encounters: in meetings where team members are working on a project at the same time and providing feedback to modify the project in real time.
Official website: www.figma.com Latest news: medium.com/figma-desig… Discuss community: www.facebook.com/figmadesign…
02. Adobe XD
A little known fact is that Adobe has long been heavily involved in prototyping software. Adobe introduced Edge Tools in 2012, but discontinued it in 2015. Then, in 2016, Adobe introduced Adobe XD, a vector-based drawing software that makes it easy to build prototypes from multiple artboards and interact with them with one click. Some users say XD is a parody of Sketch, or a combination of Sketch and InVision, or Sketch and Craft (formerly known as Silverflow). And Adobe will likely continue to improve XD’s connectivity with other powerful Adobe software. Also, unlike Sketch (dedicated to Mac OS X), THERE is a Windows version of XD.
Website: www.adobe.com/products/ex… Latest news: blogs.adobe.com/creativeclo… The editorial community: www.facebook.com/AdobeExperi…
03. Sketch & Plugins
Sketch 41 was released in November 2016, showcasing various new features such as Nested Symbol Overrides. When designers refer to Sketch, they often refer to Sketch and other plug-ins collectively as Sketch, rather than as a stand-alone application, because plug-ins (such as Measure, Content Generator, and Icon Stamper) help make designers more productive. Expect a better version of Sketch and a wider variety of plugins to come in 2017. Unfortunately, it is now an annual fee…..
www.sketchapp.com/ Plugin Market: speckyboy.com/plugins-ske… Update: medium.com/sketch-app discuss community: www.facebook.com/sketchapp/
04. Zeplin
Zeplin is probably the best known and most useful design and development collaboration plug-in for Sketch. It helps developers easily check UI specifications in artboards. In addition, they can annotate or download the necessary resources for development directly from Zeplin. With Zeplin, designers don’t have to draw UI specifications alone, and developers don’t have to chase designers for specifications or missing resources.
Website: Zeplin. IO Latest news: medium.com/zeplin-gaze… Discuss community: www.facebook.com/zeplin.io/
05. Stage & Gallery
Following Google’s acquisition of Pixate and Form, the original teams are now working together on new design tools. As far as we know, Stage is an interactive prototyping tool, while Gallery is a collaboration tool for designers. Beyond that, however, more specific features have not been made available to the public. Some predict that both apps will make full use of Google’s cloud platform, but we’ll have to wait until 2017 to see what happens.
IO /stage/, Material. IO /gallery/
06. Framer
Unlike other prototyping tools, Framer uses code (Coffeescript) for prototyping. Of all the prototyping tools mentioned in this article, it has the highest learning curve. In previous releases, designers had to enter the code more manually. In the summer of 2016, an improved version was released that reduced manual coding by automating it.
Liverpoolfc.tv: framerjs.com/ discussion groups: www.facebook.com/groups/fram…
07. ProtoPie
ProtoPie makes it possible to create simple interaction prototypes without entering any code. Other tools seem to require the designer to implement and consider some basic interaction design from a programmatic perspective. ProtoPie has been developed as a pure designer tool, allowing interaction to be reinterpreted from the designer’s point of view. Unlike other prototyping tools, ProtoPie does more than just display the prototype on a moving screen to preview the vision. ProtoPie makes it possible to physically test the interaction effect of different gestures with the use of sensors, and also to experience communication between devices, that is, to create most functions using smart devices within the same transaction prototype. Recently, an updated version of ProtoPie has implemented conditional interaction, and a Windows version is in the works.
Website: www.protopie.io/ discussion groups: www.facebook.com/protopie/
There will be more design tools to come and add more interesting features.
