3 Unique Sketch Features that inspired me to create User Flow Library
In this short Story, I would like to share with you a few Sketch features that allowed me to create SQUID UI Flow Template. I believe that when you discover some tricks and think about possibilities that they give you can also come with an idea of useful UX deliverable or UI library!
👌Resizing options
Sketch always had interesting resizing options included. They were even enhanced in time to be even more intuitive and familiar for those who know the principles of iOS layout alignment.
How may the resizing options inspire you to explore new possibilities of UX deliverables creation? For me, it was a fact that when I am selecting a few options — the shape or path will stretch when I change the size of an artboard. Additionally, when I select another toggle, the element will stay in place when the artboard size will be modified. That’s a thing that gives plenty of interesting possibilities! Like creating a stretchable User Flow connection with arrows.
If you didn’t explore Sketch resizing options yet. Folks from UX Power Tools explained it pretty well — Sketch 44 Resizing — How does it work???
🎨 Shared Styles & Symbols
Styles are the blessing for Sketch Users, they save a lot of time while creating a UI — they let us create Design Systems and Libraries that may be maintained easily.
Thanks to symbols Sketch user are able to modify or replace elements across the whole solution. No need to find each instance and change it manually.
So, what you do when you have a set of connections with arrows and you would like to change its appearance in a few clicks? Just make them symbols and create a Shared Styles. Now, when you need a sharp blue arrow that will match a style of your new project, you can apply the style in just 2–3 clicks.
🥋Artboards within Artboards (+ Sketch 49 issue solution!)
This Sketch feature was a real saving for lots of designers.
If you have to demonstrate a few mockups quickly in one picture you were able to draw around them bigger artboard and export it into the PNG file that included the content of smaller ones.
Note: I usually do not recommend artboard within artboard feature for User Flows if you would like to keep things simple and clear in your sketch file, but if you are running out of time — it is an extremely useful trick!
Now, in Sketch 49 this feature is not available (file exported from bigger artboard does not include all content). Bohemian Coding introduced fantastic prototyping feature but forgot to ask users if they really need artboards within artboards. Thankfully there is a quick solution:
👉 Multiple artboards exported in one image file
To export content of the multiple artboards in a single file you should draw bigger artboard around the ones you would like to export — like in previous versions of Sketch. Now, do not export bigger one — make it exportable, but instead of generating PNG from artboard, create a separate Slice. The Slice, created from bigger artboard will now include all content from bigger and smaller ones. That’s it! 👍
Here is a video with a sample demonstration of the trick:
🚀 The result
Combining mentioned features lead me to create a User Flow Library, first for myself. When I found that is a real time-saving tool I thought that it may be useful also for designers like you.
SQUID is a Sketch Library with customizable elements (thanks to mentioned Shared styles) that adjust to the artboards placement (Sketch resizing options) and let you present flows very quickly (thanks to features like mentioned export tricks).
You can discover the library here — SQUID UI Flow Template for Sketch.
Summing up
If you would ask me 5 years ago if there is a possibility to create quickly UX deliverable like User Flow in a design tool, I would suggest you use dedicated tools. Of course, this tools still exist and even more, will come in the near future. However, if you seek for a holistic and coherent solution — Sketch should be the first choice.
If this article was somehow interesting for you do not forget to👏 once or twice. If you would like to discover more about User Flows design in Sketch. Feel free to discover following stories:
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Thalion is a Designer, Team Leader and Design Toolmaker. He runs the platform with time-saving design toolkits and articles with the different look at UX topics called UXMisfit.com.
