Loading
why you should seriously consider Sketch

Why You Should Seriously Consider Sketch

You may ask yourself, why should I start from scratch and spend time and energy learning a new design program? I get it, as a designer I know the struggle. Time is precious and it is difficult to invest time in something that may end up being a total waste.

For me there have always been pain points when using Photoshop. First of all, it is pixel based – enough said. Second, accessing and manipulating content has always felt heavy to me. There is nothing more frustrating than sifting through endless nested layers, and of course let’s not forget accidentally making 5 empty text boxes.

Needless to say, I decided it was worth giving Sketch a fair shot and this is what I found:

#1 It is lightweight.

When first opening Sketch, I will admit my first thought was – where is everything? However, the more I designed in Sketch the more I started loving its simplicity and lightweight functionality. Moving and creating artboards is effortless. Copy and paste elements from one artboard to the next without getting the terrifying spinning wheel of death. Resize artboards to content with one click. Select a layer – one click, edit a layer – 2 clicks, can’t get much simpler than that. Commands are intuitive. Rectangle is R, line is L, type is T. The list goes on…

#2 The color panel is amazing.

This may seem like a small piece of the puzzle but believe me – game changer. Create or select a shape and all of your properties appear on your right-side panel. No more opening the properties panel, the color panel, the swatches panel, the effects panel – it is all there at your fingertips.  Click the eyedropper, and you get a zoomed selection right down to the pixel. No more accidentally selecting the wrong color– we have all been there.

sketch color picker

#3 Creating symbols is a huge time saver.

Have an element that you are using in multiple locations? No need to create it multiple times or manually duplicate it. Once you create your button, form field, drop down or whatever it may be – simply click Create Symbol on the top left. Once a symbol is created, you can insert it wherever you please. The best part, it is dynamic. For instance, have a button with a CTA and want to change the text? Simply select your symbol and edit the text in your overrides panel, you can also change the dimensions, opacity, shadow – all without breaking your symbol. If you decide you want to change one button completely, no problem, just break it from the symbol properties. How can this save you time? Let’s use a real-life example: A client wants to change the button text from 16px to 18px. Easy, change the button properties in the symbols panel and see the change across all your buttons. Can you say amazing?

sketch symbols

#4 There are endless plugins and resources.

Sketch offers a ton of resources and plugins that can make your life easier. Click Plugins on the top menu – Manage plugins – Get Plugins. This button will direct you to https://sketchapp.com/extensions/plugins/ where you can search, find and install plugins for FREE. Sketch also provides an endless amount of resources – you can find these at https://www.sketchappsources.com. This is great for inspiration or if you don’t want to start your design from scratch. You don’t always have time to reinvent the wheel.

sketch plugins

#5 Truly painless exporting.

Ok I think I saved the best for last. Exporting assets is not only a time suck but a total drag. With Sketch’s export options you can select a layer and make it exportable with one click – literally just click Make Exportable on the bottom right. You can also export for different screen sizes – click the plus sign and select the size (1X, 2X, 3X) and the file type (.jpg, .svg, .png, .eps). Want to make your developer happy? Try out Sketch Measure, a plugin that generates an HTML file where you can inspect CSS properties and directly download assets. Seriously, your developer will LOVE you.

sketch exporting

This is just a small snapshot of what I experienced and discovered with Sketch. So if you are unsure if you want take the plunge, I am here to tell you – do it.

Related Posts
design inspiration

3 Ways to Cure a Creative Block

March 29, 2018
reasons designers leave their job

The Top 3 Reasons a Designer Leaves their Job

March 16, 2017
Top 5 Sketch Plugins

5 Must-Have Sketch Plugins

August 11, 2017
what a designer hates to hear

5 Things a Designer Hates to Hear

April 3, 2017

254 comments

  1. Hi! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any recommendations?

    Reply

  2. Hi there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my facebook group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Thank you

    Reply

  4. “I have learn some good stuff here. Certainly value bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much attempt you set to create such a excellent informative web site.”

    Reply

  10. Maintain аАа’аАТ‚аЂТ˜em coming you all do such a great career at this kind of Concepts can at tell you how considerably I, for one appreciate all you do!

    Reply

  53. Wow, wonderful blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is magnificent, let alone the content!

    Reply

  71. If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair.

    Reply

  88. I think other website proprietors should take this website as an model, very clean and great user genial style and design, let alone the content. You are an expert in this topic!

    Reply

  92. Modular Kitchens have changed the idea of kitchen in today as world as it has provided household women with a comfortable yet a classy area through which they could spend their quality time and space.

    Reply

  97. I would like to start making money blogging. Can someone lead me in the right direction? There are so many free sites, kits, etc? Don at know where to start?.

    Reply

  106. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I ave truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

    Reply

  125. This particular blog is no doubt cool additionally factual. I have picked up a bunch of helpful advices out of this amazing blog. I ad love to come back again and again. Thanks a lot!

    Reply

  141. Wow, awesome weblog structure! How long have you been blogging for? you make running a blog look easy. The full look of your web site is fantastic, as well as the content!

    Reply

  163. This particular blog is definitely interesting and besides diverting. I have picked up many helpful things out of this amazing blog. I ad love to visit it again and again. Cheers!

    Reply

  170. Your positions continually have got a lot of really up to date info. Where do you come up with this? Just saying you are very resourceful. Thanks again

    Reply

  177. It as not that I want to copy your website, but I really like the design and style. Could you tell me which design are you using? Or was it tailor made?

    Reply

  182. Normally I don at read article on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do it! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thanks, quite nice post.

    Reply

  201. Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast! What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

    Reply

  211. Incredible! This blog looks just like my old one! It as on a completely different topic but it has pretty much the same page layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!

    Reply

  213. Woah! I am really loving the template/theme of this site. It as simple, yet effective. A lot of times it as difficult to get that perfect balance between usability and appearance.

    Reply

  215. You could definitely see your enthusiasm in the work you write. The arena hopes for more passionate writers such as you who aren at afraid to say how they believe. At all times follow your heart.

    Reply

  222. Wow, fantastic weblog structure! How lengthy have you been running a blog for? you make running a blog glance easy. The total glance of your website is magnificent, let alone the content!

    Reply

  235. I think other web site proprietors should take this website as an model, very clean and magnificent user friendly style and design, let alone the content. You are an expert in this topic!

    Reply

Leave a Reply