There is no shortage when it comes to tools for UI/UX designers and web developers to use to create wireframes, mocks, or prototypes. Among the top tools sit three platforms that stand out compared to the rest.
Each application has its own set of pros, cons, functionality, and UI. Our in-house designers have dabbled in all three programs. In this blog we’ll dive into the specifics of each, what you can expect, our take, and why we use Figma over the rest.
What is Figma?
Figma is an interactive UI design tool. Debuted in 2016, it’s one of the newer tools in the UI/UX space. Design and Development are constantly evolving fields. With such a dynamic field, your tool needs to be equally adept and flexible. Since Figma is a relatively newer application, the features, capabilities, and technology powering Figma are more advanced.
We use Figma for a variety of reasons.
- You can import Sketch files and your layers and groups will stay consistent across platforms.
- The vast plugin library.
- There are a ton of valuable plugins in Figma, anything from Lorem Ipsum to Content Reels, Accessibility, and background removal.
- Unique and beneficial widgets.
- Widgets integrate with anything from GitHub and Asana to tablets, timelines, sticky notes, Giphy stickers, and voting.
- Flows are simply shareable.
- Share your designs and flows with anyone. No Figma account required. Designs update in real time for those viewing the design. When working side by side with a client, it makes communication regarding designs and updates efficient.
Those are only a few of the many reasons we picked Figma for interactive and collaborative designing. Their feature list goes on, many of the features on this list will overlap with other design apps.
Features
With Figma being the newest of the bunch, you can expect many of your favorite design features consolidated with increased efficiency. Figma was also designed for both a software application and a web-based application. You can create or edit your designs on the web rather than downloading a program to your physical device, making your work infinitely more flexible.
One of the biggest features is real-time collaboration. Team up with your fellow designers to allow multiple pages or screens are designed in tandem, speeding up design efficiency. This feature doesn’t have to be solely used for designing. Many users take advantage of the collaboration capabilities and apply Figma as more of a whiteboard. Being able to add ideas and work through problems together online. Users can click their team member’s avatars in the top right-hand corner to view where and what they are working on.
Prototyping is an important feature of UI/UX design. Allowing customers or clients to see and interact with a mock can be game changing. When clients can see how their website, software, or mobile app is going to function and how different buttons, screens, or modules interact with each other you have a much higher customer satisfaction rate. From hover effects to page transitions, to scrolling effects, Figma has a wide range of options for their prototyping tool.
Download the Figma companion app to view your design on a mobile application. Adobe XD and Figma allows this feature, their app is available on Android, iOS, and iPadOS.
Use real data to populate content in components with the help of plugins. Google Sheets Sync integrates with Figma allowing designers to use real data to test layout and responsiveness.
Pros and Cons
To determine which tool will work best for your business and needs, we created a pros and cons list for each of the three applications discussed here. We typically use Figma for our client mocks and user flows. It’s easy to use, the sharing feature is more flexible than other programs, and we can monitor and view where the client is on the artboard.
Pros
Ease of use and beginner friendly
Highly shareable, no account necessary to view a design
Save files locally or in the cloud
Free plan
Vast libraries of functional plugins
Additional functionality with widgets
Import Sketch files with relative ease
Collaborative designing
Vector based
Easy hand-off to developers with CSS available
Have multiple files open at once
Web based browser application (available to any computer with a web browser)
Windows and Mac desktop apps
Mobile companion app for responsiveness testing
Cons
Limited capabilities with the free plan
If you save a file locally, you must open it with the desktop app rather than the web browser app
No Adobe XD file import support
No direct integration with image or vector editor
If you do not have internet access, you cannot use Figma
You may have to clear your cache to see teammates design changes
Pricing
Figma offers four pricing options. The starter option is free forever, however only allows 3 Figma files to be saved, unlimited personal files, plugin capabilities, and access to the mobile app for viewing. The professional plan upgrades storage to unlimited, giving you free rein over the number of Figma files, as well as adds version history and team libraries. The organization option adds a multitude of collaborative tools and features ensuring an efficient workflow between team members. The enterprise plan includes everything across the various plans as well as hands-on trainings, additional security and administration settings.
Sketch
Sketch is very similar to the previously mentioned design and prototype software applications; however, Sketch is only available on Apple devices. Our team has limited experience with Sketch, as it is only compatible with MacOS.
Sketch is the oldest out of the three programs, with an initial release in 2010. Sketch prides itself on it’s comprehensive design functionality. The list of companies who use Sketch is very notable; companies from Meta (Facebook), to Google, to Xbox. So, they must be doing something right. Let’s dive into the available features and the various pros and cons of the Sketch design application.
Features
As with Figma, online collaborative editing is available. Work with team members to bring concepts to life with design centric tools. Although the design functions of Sketch are only accessible on Mac, PC users may view, download assets and make comments via the web application.
Create complex and large flows with an infinite canvas. No need to break your project down into multiple files. Keep your screens organized and design how you want. Utilize components to scale and build your project out, reuse designs and update all instances simultaneously. Sketch offers Smart Layout, similar to the Repeat Grid function on Adobe XD.
Use the math operators to quickly scale your objects or layers. Sketch was created with designers in mind, many of their features were outlined by designers for designers.
Typography is an issue with Adobe XD, Sketch blows the competition out of the water. With OpenType fonts and infinite control over typography, unlock alternate characters and ligatures.
While Sketch has been around the longest, both Figma and Adobe XD have a longer list of design features. There are no templates, animation controls, publishing options, or prototyping available.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Universal libraries for colors, styles, and components
Easy Export for development teams
Vast library of plugins
Auto-save function
Integration with external applications
Intuitive grid and group styling features
Optimized for screen designs
Cloud based storage
Generate multiple exports with one click
Affordable licenses for teams
Free 30-day trial
Cons
No PC support, if you have a cross-platform team this would not be ideal
No support for animation assets
Does not import vector assets from Adobe products intuitively
Limited functionality without plugins
Software slows with complex and multiple artboards
No design web application
Struggles with complex SVGs
Smaller community online
No free version
No companion mobile app
Pricing
Sketch starts at $9 per editor monthly or $99 per editor annually. Organizations get customized pricing, however, at least 25 editors are required.