I’ve been using Sketch for almost 2 years now and during this time my productivity and output has dramatically increased. The ability to explore multiple design variations in the same document without compromising speed and an uncluttered interface is what really got me away from procrastinating and helped me create satisfying work again. Not big on putting ideas down on paper, Sketch on the other hand has allowed me to get ideas out of my head quickly without taking the tactile approach. Our attention spans are only so long and as designers we get tired of looking at our designs quite quickly and end up with design blocks.
Like most of us, I can’t afford to purchase top of the range hardware or upgrade every year, my design workflow would only be possible with Sketch’s ability to create ridiculously un-flattened complex artwork without destroying processing power and eating up all my memory. I must admit I was skeptical the very first time, the confusion that Adobe products created around interfaces made me think that Sketch couldn’t possibly be up for the task. But just because something is simple doesn’t mean it can’t achieve complicated tasks. In fact I have found quite the opposite to be true. Sketch can achieve quite a few things with fewer steps. You’ll be surprised just how much better the basic essential tools behave, designing in Sketch is lot more natural as opposed to designing in Photoshop; it’s like trying to code in Dreamweaver, a very bloated experience that’s difficult to navigate. Also the web is no longer made up of pixels and we really should not be designing like this either, in fact before I started using Sketch I designed almost all my websites in Illustrator. Photoshop has been an outdated piece of design software for quite some time now, I’m not saying its obsolete as its probably the best tool for image manipulation, it’s just not meant for modern web and app design.
But there’s a few things keeping designers from making the switch:
Firstly, that you don’t have time to spend learning any new tools. Fortunately the interface is so intuitive that without trying you just kind of know where everything is, its like using an iPhone for the first time.
Secondly, designers tend to hesitate over the potential loss of all assets and resources they have bought and collected over all the years of designing. I only have one thing to say; you really shouldn’t be using them. Design is constantly changing, so you should be looking for new resources in any case, not recycling design trends from a year ago and there’s a lot of free quality resources to get you started, so you don’t have an excuse.
Lastly, you may be saying “I can’t afford to buy new software”. At $90 dollars once-off you’re basically getting it for free compared to Adobe Creative Cloud which sets you back $50 a month.
Hopefully by now you are at least a little curious about Sketch, so download the trial and replicate something you did in Photoshop, you have nothing to lose and will be so happy you did.
Further reading on moving from Photoshop to Sketch:
- Ditch Photoshop design for the web using Sketch – Adelle Charles
- Its time to dump Photoshop and embrace Sketch – Baz Deas
- From Adobe to Sketch one designers perspective – Lehel Babos
