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14 designers helped us make sense of data from 6M design files

4 years ago from , CEO & Co-founder at Avocode

Hello everyone,

I’m thrilled to introduce the “always late but worth the wait" 4th Design report based on data from 6,354,110 designs uploaded to Avocode in 2018.

Design tools are something we’ve been observing and making use of ourselves at Avocode for a long time now. Rather than making boring data analysis, we decided to collaborate with world’s class illustrators to celebrate creativity by creating gorgeous visuals for each section.

On top of that, if you download the full report, you’ll find insights from the best design leaders with diverse backgrounds. Here’s a quick look at who you can expect:

  • Mike from Creative Mints, One of the top designers on Dribbble
  • Linzi Berry, Design System Lead at Lyft
  • Nathan Riley, Design Director & Co-Founder at Green Chameleon

Our team has put a lot of work into this, so check it out and let me know your thoughts. https://avocode.com/design-report-2018

Thanks.

8 comments

  • Marc EdwardsMarc Edwards, 4 years ago

    Crafting UIs in Illustrator is not a good idea.

    That is a really daft take on Illustrator, which is still by far the best tool for making icons and icon sets for user interfaces.

    4 points
    • Mattan IngramMattan Ingram, 4 years ago

      I don't think they are saying don't use Illustrator for icons, I think they are saying it is not really great at the actual layout and interface part of UI design. As someone who started their web design career using Illustrator since using Photoshop was such a nightmare, I am very familiar with what it does better than the old tools and what it does far worse than the new tools.

      This all touches back on the really weird argument people have over when/where you are allowed to say a tool is better than another. People get so sensitive when you suggest a better tool, but sometimes IT REALLY IS BETTER. You wouldn't paint a skyscraper with a toothbrush would you?

      -1 points
      • Marc EdwardsMarc Edwards, 4 years ago

        Rather than snark, I’d prefer some well researched and more objective reasons. I’m all for sensible discussion around tools, and I have no problem with discussions around which is better for certain tasks. I do my best to use a wide range of tools.

        Sure, you can do some UI work in Illustrator, but its real power lies in illustration. Anything else — from wireframing to pixel pushing is far easier in tools such as Adobe XD, Sketch or Figma.

        Adobe XD is not colour managed, doesn’t have guides, doesn’t have blending modes, and is missing 100s of absolutely essential features for wireframing and UI design. Missing colour management is grounds for instant dismissal, in my opinion — if you can’t draw a single rectangle and have it show as the correct colour, the entire tool is unacceptably broken for design work.

        Comments like the one quoted only show the author’s lack of understanding of the tool space and design in general.

        3 points
        • Mattan IngramMattan Ingram, 4 years ago

          I don’t think that’s a fair judgment to make when so many people would agree with the quoted statement. There’s reasons most people don’t use Illustrator for web design, and in my experience most designers have little understanding about color management unless working in print. That doesn’t mean they are right to be ignorant of it, but there are still successful product designers using tools built specifically for product design without thinking about color management.

          -1 points
          • Marc EdwardsMarc Edwards, 4 years ago

            If someone’s not using the best tool due to ignorance, doesn’t that mean your original reply is correct?

            People get so sensitive when you suggest a better tool, but sometimes IT REALLY IS BETTER.

            Colour management is essential. Not understanding it is a weak excuse, and as wide gamut displays take over all devices, that excuse is going to cause more issues and seem more tenuous.

            I get that some of the older tools aren’t the flavour of the month, but there’s a lot to be learned from them. Newer tools often seem wilfully ignorant of lessons learned a long time ago.

            2 points
  • Bevan StephensBevan Stephens, 4 years ago

    Lovely report, but I'm afraid I found the experimental navigation style on desktop annoying and distracting.

    It reminded of those flash based PDF readers with the page turn effect that you used to get. Kudos to you to try something different though, and this is a perfectly appropriate place to do so, but the result for me was a negative experience. Hope that is useful.

    4 points
    • Nadia SOTNIKOVA, 4 years ago

      Same, annoying UX. Took me a few moments to understand what I'm supposed to be reading/ doing. Looks nice, but hurts the experience overall.

      1 point
    • Julian H, 4 years ago

      Agreed! Annoying UX, stopped after three "slides".

      0 points