Sketch on the Rise
What would a website look like without careful planning? Well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be very pretty. Design is imperative for establishing bold brand identities and creating functional, aesthetically-pleasing products. At the Digital Corps, we value visual creativity and its importance in the comprehensive success of our work. Our designers use multiple programs to produce assets, such as logos and website mockups. One of the more recently adopted programs is Sketch — a digital design toolkit. The group that created Sketch was founded in 2008, but they officially released the program in 2013. Since then, Sketch has gained attention in the design industry as a user-friendly program.
Sketch embodies the growing innovation of the design industry. As more designers work on digital products, they need tools that progress with the industry. Chad Hostetter, a Digital Corps alumnus and designer at High Alpha, believes that the program impressed those who were complaisant with Adobe products.
“Sketch is also much more flexible and community oriented, encouraging users to build on their platform and increase innovation,” said Chad.
Riley Paulsen, the Facilitator for Training and Design at the Digital Corps, reached out to the people behind Sketch and introduced it to our office. Initially, the program wasn’t used for many projects, but as it developed in industry popularity, we started encouraging design students to learn about the program. Sketch is now a part of Design Team training at the Corps, and it’s changing the way we design for mobile applications and websites.
“After Sketch broke out in the industry, I started seeing it appear on more job applications. It was growing in popularity, so we wanted to make it an available tool for Digital Corps students,” said Riley.
Sketch’s many interesting features, such as plugins and interactive prototyping, make it an excellent program for quick, efficient work. Plugins add some extra features to the program, and interactive prototyping allows users to transform their designs and see how they operate in the real world. Sketch helps streamline the design process by removing steps and making complex designs seem simple. Digital Corps Design Apprentice, Manny Guerra, appreciates Sketch’s accessible layout and its ability to link artboards.
“It’s organized and easily usable. Sketch helps you get your point across professionally and effectively,” said Manny.
Design Specialist, Kelli Reutman, has been using Sketch since last August. Though she is partial to the comparable program, Adobe Illustrator, she believes that Sketch has a niche purpose in designing web and app layouts. Illustrator may offer more tools for artistic elements, but Sketch is best for achieving usability in user interface design. Sketch makes creating mockups for web and app interfaces faster than using Illustrator’s more intricate features.
“Illustrator is great for drawing, but if you’re doing web and app layouts, Sketch is definitely better,” said Kelli.
This year, the Corps instigated Sketch training as part of our requirements for the Design Team. Design Apprentice, Zoey Buck, is currently learning how to use Sketch and Illustrator simultaneously. She enjoys the functionality of the toolbar and Sketch’s compatibility with coding for design. Sketch is more product-focused than Illustrator, meaning that the program works well for brand design.
“It takes the greatest parts of Illustrator and combines them with easier wireframing,” said Zoey. “It’s the marriage of two beautiful things.”
Sketch is rising up in the industry ranks, taking the design world by storm. Though it may never replace programs such as our beloved Adobe Illustrator, Sketch is gaining recognition for its user-friendly set-up and interface-driven design technology.
