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Ask DN: iPad Pro as my main computer, any apps you recommend?

almost 8 years ago from Thomas Didrel, Senior UI / UX Designer at Schibsted

  • Thomas DidrelThomas Didrel, almost 8 years ago

    Wireframing is easy. Before the iPadI used to do wireframing on paper first and then move on to draw stuff in Sketch. But now it is all digital from the beginning. Paper (the app) gives me a lot of added bonuses over paper (undo, duplicate, etc.) while keeping the same spontaneity. And using Adobe Comp I can output pretty high fidelity mocks very quickly.

    Prototyping on the other hand is harder. As of right now I haven't found a prototyping app that works for me. I could still use invision as it is a web app. I'll see. I am only a month in and I will probably encounter more bumps down the road.

    All in all it is a great experience, I can't say I am more productive, but I can say for sure that I am not less. There are huge gains in some parts of my work, and some losses in other areas. But it evens out. And As time goes and I familiarize with the platform, I expect my productivity to go up.

    But the biggest benefit IMO is definitely the hardware. I love the freedom: It weights a third of my already light MacBook Pro 13", has twice the battery life and the Pencil is just a killer.

    1 point
    • Cecil Lancaster, almost 8 years ago (edited almost 8 years ago )

      What about exporting assets for developers from your high fidelity mocks made from Adobe Comp? And being limited to 2 apps side-by-side doesn't constrain you if you need to have your design app, wire framing app, browser, and email open? And especially sharing files between those must be more cumbersome on an iPad than drag/drop on a desktop?

      Edit: And also having multiple docs open in each of those applications so that you can switch around to each one easily rather than opening/closing files all the time

      0 points
      • Thomas DidrelThomas Didrel, almost 8 years ago

        High fidelity mocks are just that, mocks. I work with a visual designer who takes those mocks and creates the actual designs from them. I am not suggesting anyone else should do it, this is an experiment, and I must admit that I am in a very specific position to do so. But I also expect to run into obstacles that will push me back to my laptop in the future.

        Working on an iPad certainly has its constrains, but it works for me. I have never been a fan of having too many windows open on screen at the same time; on my computers I tend to put apps in full screen and use virtual desktops (Spaces) to separate each activity. So I rarely have more than a couple of windows open on screen anyway. But I completely see how other people would feel clostrophobic on iOS.

        And you are right, iOS is a constrained platform, multitasking is only in its infancy and many of the things that one takes for granted on a desktop can be hard or flat out impossible.

        The thing is, I didn't try to translate my desktop habits over to iOS, like I didn't ask Sketch to be Fireworks or my bike to be the metro.

        I am often browsing DN to discover and learn about the tools that other designers are using but there is little talk about iPad apps (probably for good reason) hence the very interesting discussions that we are having right here. :)

        0 points