Sketch Exercise Kata | Ironhack Lisbon

Sketch for Dummies: a good guide for people like me.

This third exercise from Ironhack’s Prework was intended to help me get comfortable with the Sketch software and tools.

And it worked! Now I just hope tomorrow I still remember what I learned. I know… it’s just insecurity of whom is entering in a new world. Some people (not only designers) might roll their eyes if they come across this post, but for me, a person with no design background, it was super important to learn the basics and start from the beginning, like a kid with new pencils. Because it was my first time with Sketch. Thanks for this, Ironhack.

How was your first time facing this new tool / How easy/difficult you found it to understand the interface

• With the instructions given in the Prework platform and with a little bit of patience it wasn’t hard. Ok, of course I was wrong in some procedures and was blocked a couple of times trying to understand why a certain task was not working (it took me a while to deal with image mask), but I think it’s normal for those who are at “first class”. I forgot several times about the shortcuts, to name the layers and how to set the width and height of several shapes at the same time. But the good thing is that you can always delete and doing it again, because the point is learning by doing. I hope in a couple of Sketch sessions I’m going to be much better and, who knows, a Sketch expert.

How did you feel it compared to other design tools you may know

• As illustrator, I know a little bit about Photoshop and InDesign. My knowledge about these is not profound because I’m an illustrator who does almost all the work by hand. But although it was my first time with Sketch, I found it simpler and more intuitive than Photoshop, who has no-ending multiple tool layers. In my perception, Sketch is made for designers not to waste time looking for the right tools: the interface is minimal and in your sight. When I was wrong, I didn’t waste much time realizing where and I always had this problem with Photoshop. Limiting options is crucial not to rambling.

What do you want to learn next

• From now on it’s going to be more problematic, with wireframes and prototyping. I’m afraid when my layer list will have a hundred artboards, layers, with different groups and masks, some hidden and others locked. But for now, this exercise gave me the confidence to get to the next challenge, and step by step learning to make with ease beautiful and workable UI design. By other words, I want to learn everything Sketch can give me.

With this, I started my relationship with my new best friend, Sketch.