Is it necessary to use Sketch as a designer?
Below I will talk about my experience with different design tools but majorly Sketch.
A while ago, probably early 2017, I started my career in design ( UI/UX ). It was indeed challenging because I knew nothing about design. All I knew was that, designers create the interface of a website or product and give the front-end & backend developers to do the rest. Little did I know that the creating a design is an entirely different process.
So I started by downloading Figma, I wanted to learn how to design with Photoshop ( I was discouraged from using it ) because I knew no other design tool as at then. After downloading Figma, it worked efficiently and I fell in love with it while learning. I designed different things initially. I remember working as an Intern for a company ( I would not mention the name ), after creating a design for the said company, it got rejected more than 10times due to a said bad UI, I had to redesign it again and again before it was finally accepted as a good design. I continued learning how to use different layouts, prototyping, typography, how to blend colours properly while using Figma. One very morning, a fellow designer asked me, “ Why are you using Figma and not Sketch”, and I was like, Yo!!!!, I do not have a Mac and Sketch does not work on Windows, I forgot about Sketch and continued using Figma. I created usable, functional designs but the feedback I was getting from some colleagues who felt I should be creating better designs were that, my designs were good but not “pixel perfect”. I had to run to my friend ( Google… ) for the meaning of “pixel perfect”. It simply meant, considering every detail down to individual pixel. Cutting the long story short, I decided to start using Sketch in 2018 because I wanted to understand and create designs that were pixel perfect so as to become a better designer.
Fast-forward to how my designs has improved while using Sketch. The picture above is my very first design using Sketch and believe me, it felt easier creating this on Sketch rather than Figma. I’m not trying to slate Figma, Figma is a very good design tool when using Windows but should you have the opportunity to get a Mac, you should consider the switch to Sketch. I started using Sketch as a novice, it looked really complicated at first because it was not looking straight forward but after watching youtube videos and following some of my favourite designers’ works, I understood the concept of Sketch better. Sketch could even be simpler to use when you install various plugins to make your work faster. I have some installed plugins on my Sketch app and they work very fine. Sketch can also be used as a prototyping tool with the aid of a plugin called “craft” should you want to prototype on Sketch.
Also with Sketch you can upload your designs to Sketch cloud which I don’t think other design applications have. Sketch is generally on the next level compared to other design tools. Below is my second design on Sketch;
I know it may not be easy to make a switch from your favourite design tool to Sketch, but if your current design tool can achieve all you want to achieve as a designer then keep at it but if you are someone who loves experimenting on different technologies then I will strongly advice you consider using Sketch and it would not be a waste of time in the end.
Honestly, Sketch is a beautiful application and I will advice anyone to make the switch and believe me, you would not regret it.
Below is a link to my online portfolio should you be interested in checking out some of my designs;
Feel free to appreciate, like or comment….
