How I entered Sketch and Survived?
And why leaving Photoshop was such a big step.
I still remember the day when my father both a new car. It was more than 15 years ago. It was the time of Need for Speed Underground and I really wanted to see how this car would look like with bigger sports wheels and some spoilers. I’ve downloaded Adobe Photoshop and after a couple of days, this piece of art showed up on dad’s table. He didn’t end up buying nor bigger wheels nor spoilers. But the feeling of using such a powerful tool as Photoshop was magical. I could Photoshop whatever I want. It was love at first sight.
During these years, Photoshop became my true soulmate and my life partner as I started to do some design for a hobby. Design soon became my main business and Photoshop was always there for me. It was my main tool, which I was using to design Websites, Mobile Apps and also some Print materials. 15 years later, the relationship between me and Photoshop has come to an end. We are still friends, but I have a new soulmate now — and it’s called Sketch!
Why I’ve hesitated to quit Photoshop?
I’m familiar with Sketch from its beginning. It was this mysterious creature, entering the web design terrain in times when Photoshop was unstoppable. At that time, I was on my path to success. I was the fastest designer in the company and my knowledge and coordination of Photoshop were brilliant. Nothing could beat that.
As my knowledge and experiences were increasing, I got promoted and I started to work with serious clients. Projects were getting bigger and bigger, the workflow started to change, there were more and more changes during the design process. Photoshop started to resist. It became slow, Layers and Groups became really messy and complicated.
Changing things in Photoshop was always hard. How to make multiple screens? How to change all fonts on 15 screens? How to define text styles? How to make list with bullets?
But still, at the time all my co-workers in the development department were used to reading PSD files, the workflow was really well-coordinated, passing the files into development was pretty easy. Although I was hearing some whining about Photoshop from time to time, we were a dream team. And our productivity was on top. Well, at least we thought it was.
How did I enter Sketch?
New job, blank page! After almost 5 years of working in Advertising Agency as a Senior Web & Graphic Designer, it was time for a change. I have joined team Futourist, a development company whose core business is developing a blockchain-based review platform, applicated on multiple channels. I decided to do a step forward and started a new chapter of my design skills. For 2 months, I was doing research on “How to do things right”. I came across a whole new vocabulary, workflows, approaches. I was getting more and more interested. I’ve said to myself “It’s now or never”. And I’ve chosen to enter Sketch.
It’s been almost 3 months now. What have I learned about Sketch?
1. Beginnings are always painful. But…
Sketch has torn my life apart. I needed almost 2 weeks and a bunch of tutorials to start using it properly. I’m still learning. But honestly, I can’t imagine life without it anymore.
2. Speed, speed, speed
It’s all about speed. And Sketch is fast. The vector based concept is ass kicking. And there is no loading bar when opening files. Just pure productivity. It’s a fact.
3. Clarity of Designs
Once again — vector based concept is ass kicking. Not just because of speed, clarity of designs is also really bright. Looking at my designs on Retina display is pure joy.
4. Consistency & Accessibility
Once you break the ice, you have everything there. From text & layer styles to symbol libraries. From object properties such as border radius, shadows and image fills to useful flexible resizing of single objects, groups, or whole art boards. With this kind of package, an end product will always be a blast.
5. Optimized Workflow, better Overview
Thanks to the powerful team of Artboards, Pages, Groups, and Layers, the workflow is extremely optimized and fast, no matter how many screens I need to design. Overview orientation between screens is logical.
6. Prototyping & Sketch Mirror
I’ve used some prototyping tools such as Invision before Sketch. But developing user flow during the design and testing it right away is just priceless.
7. Extensions
Do you imagine searching for 60 avatar images on the web? And then importing them into a PSD file of a Social Network Mobile App concept?
I was thrilled when I found the Sketch Plugins Library and plugins such as Zeplin, Content Generator, TinyFaces, Change All Fonts, etc. … When there is something that causes you pain, you can always find a plugin for it.
8. Exporting, Zeplin Integration and Communication with Developers
The biggest plus for my latest step in the process — exporting files and communication with Development department, was without a doubt Zeplin Integration. It saved me number of hours explaining and coordinating the project. The thing is a life saver. Developers would agree, right?
I’ve hesitated and I was afraid of a change because I knew it will tear apart my existing workflow. But hey, I’ve entered Sketch and I survived.
And guess what? I’m still using Photoshop with the same purpose as 15 years ago. For pimping things. And I still get a call from my father every once in a while, somewhere along the lines of: “Hey Jan, can you Photoshop the walls in my living room to yellow? Just to see if it works?”
