They say that a true professional doesn’t care what tools to work with. If you know your business well, you can do it right in different conditions. Perhaps this is a true statement, but one important question remains: why would anyone torment themselves if there are so many useful services and tools around?
The tech world continues to evolve, providing people with the tools to solve problems in various fields. UX designers are often under deadline pressure to deliver high-quality results within tight deadlines. That’s why it’s important to have a set of effective tools to speed up your workflow. I and the team behind the original article have put together a list of useful tools for UI and UX designers based on our experience and additional research. Let’s see what these tools are.
TOP 5 tools for complex interface design and animation (UI / UX)
1. Figma
Figma is a fresh tool. It is ideal even for real-time teamwork. Figma works smartly and right in the browser. There is also a desktop application, but it only works when connected to the Internet.
Figma is built on electron js technology, which means you can design on any platform: Windows, Mac, ChromeOS, and even Linux. And also a nice bonus, your designs are saved instantly in the cloud, which means that all work is always safe and ready for demonstration to clients.
- Work and storm simultaneously with the entire design team in multiplayer mode;
- Get the tool anywhere: Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, and Mac;
- In the box is a gorgeous Pen tool; Suitable for UI-design of mobile applications, just install on your gadget: Figma Mirror;
- Tools for transferring designs to development; If you have a project in .sketch, just open it in Figma; Figma is a free editor (Freemium);
- [Update] Now with an arsenal of plugins, Animations are inferior to Principle and InVision Studio in showiness and fluidity;
2. Sketch
Sketch is still a very popular tool. And in conjunction with InVision Studio and an arsenal of plugins, Sketch gives out of the box a comprehensive solution for the movement of design tasks: from wireframes and interactive prototypes to transferring the entire design system to developers.
- Works on Mac only;
- Huge selection of plugins (Anima, Craft, Material, etc.);
- The accumulated base of free resources, including UI-kits, libraries, templates, etc .;
- Perfectly paired with Principle and Invision Studio; It is inferior to Figma in solving the task of team assault since it does not support co-editing in multiplayer mode;
- Some designers complain about Mirroring sketch artboards when they need to debug designs right on a mobile gadget;
3. InVision Studio
InVision Studio is a bombastic product for the design of interactive systems (UX / UI), and the capabilities of InVision Cloud are simply awful. If you need to make advanced animations or develop a responsive design system and transfer the whole thing to development, then this tool is simply irreplaceable for you. A very professional and technological tool.
- Sharpened for Windows and Mac OS;
- InVision Studio has a great timeline and it is amazing to refine both the UI and UX with all the intricacies of product behavior;
- The studio accelerates the design of adaptive layouts, as it is sharpened for this process and takes on pleasant nuances with adaptation;
- Enhanced by the capabilities of Envision Cloud (collecting feedback, testing prototypes on mobile gadgets, manager of design systems);
- InVision Studio is a free product, and in combination with InVision Cloud allows you to check all the system’s capabilities on one complex project;
- Prototypes with a lot of animations can get slower;
- Allows you to create nice soft animations and transition effects;
4. Adobe XD
Adobe XD is designed to make your prototyping process reactive. To do this, cloning tools (repeat grids) are always at hand here, so sketching a layout or quickly filling the lists with content – there are just two times here. If you’ve already used the Craft plugin for Sketch, then consider that it’s already available out of the box here.
- Suitable for Windows and Mac OS;
- The Craft counterpart for Sketch is already available out of the box here;
- Testing prototypes directly on mobile devices;
- There are certain limitations when working with components;
- Animations are weak (focused on prototyping and assembly from ready-made designs);
5. Framer X
Framer X is built on top of framer.js, which means you can create UI components for React and debug UX / UI right in Framer X.
- So far only for Mac (but the cloud tool is already being developed in full);
- You can import .sketch; Allows you to create React components;
- Here you can create any UI-animations and set any behavior in the interface, as you can directly take and program;
- It is not easy to enter the tool without preparation. In some places you need engineering thinking;
- Get ready to program;
TOP 4 tools for creating wireframes
1. Create wireframes in Balsamiq
Balsamiq promotes the traditional approach to prototyping, both with pen and paper. The tool is focused on mockups and wireframes, which are designed to express an idea in terms of structure and content. The emphasis on aesthetics is minimal. The product is ideal when you need to quickly assemble a layout, wireframe, or sketch of a website or application.
- Good for mock-ups and prototyping;
- Balsamiq Cloud supports multiplayer team assaults with saving the results of the work;
2. Just in mind
Suitable for web designers. Allows you to quickly collect site and interface layouts and even customize styles, unlike Balsamiq.
- Integration with Sketch and Photoshop;
- Free selection of UI-kits;
- Like everything else, it supports functions for creating a design system;
- As easy to use as Figma;
3. MockFlow
Mockflow is used for wireframes and interface prototyping. In terms of design, it is a more advanced tool than Balsamiq.
- 1 project can be developed for free;
- No harder than Balsamiq;
- Arsenal of plugins to speed up design (MockFlow Power-Ups);
4. Visio
If you are used to the Microsoft Office Suite, then Visio is your ideal companion for designing and developing wireframes.
- You can install an extension for generating HTML prototypes;
- Visio is geared towards creating diagrams and diagrams, so to some people, it seems not quite suitable for prototyping;
TOP 4 tools for prototyping and animation of interfaces
1. Principle
The principle is ideal for animating interfaces. You can import designs from Figma and Sketch into it. The tool is extremely useful for enriching the UX of your application with animations.
- Works on Mac only;
- Perfect when paired with Figma and Sketch;
- Allows you to create nice soft animations and transition effects;
2. InVision Cloud
InVision Cloud is part of the InVision ecosystem, which includes InVision Studio. However, it is also great as a stand-alone tool for rapid prototyping. Works in tandem with Sketch and InVision Studio. Perfectly complements your arsenal of design and interactive design tools.
- Works in tandem with Invision Studio and Sketch (via Craft plugin);
- Convenient for collecting feedback and comments from customers. By the way, the kit even includes a kanban board;
- Includes tools for transferring designs to development;
3. UxPin
UXPin allows you to create detailed prototypes with support for javascript components and conditionals. Here you can create prototypes with behavior as close to real-life as possible.
- It is possible to animate the interface (keyframe animation);
- There is a multiplayer mode for team assaults;
- Convenient for the development of design systems;
4. Origami Studio
Facebook created Origami Studio to help designers and developers elevate, hone, and launch products like Instagram, Messenger, and more. And now it’s available to everyone.
- Sketch import;
- Working out all the nuances of design, animations, and behavior is not inferior to InVisionStudio;
Similar to Framer X in terms of learning complexity;
What to Avoid in Design in 2022
A hodgepodge of fonts
Use no more than 1-2 fonts at a time. And Arial, Open Sans, and Lato are already slowly going out of style.
Statics
Pump your sites interactively, make something burn, fly, jump, move. And then measure the conversion, I think the numbers will please you.
Drains
Stocks are not TOP. Pro work looks more expensive and users feel it and vote in gold. Therefore, master technology, upgrade skills, and try to avoid stocks.
Conclusion and recommendation
Technologies and methods are growing like mushrooms after rain. New opportunities for self-expression are growing every six months. Try to try new things in combat projects, train your skills on training projects, strengthen brands, stand out from competitors and follow trends.