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Invision is making me crazy, is there a better tool?

over 8 years ago from , Designer

I use invision with Sketch files and iOS design. Can anyone recommend an alternative? Invision keeps adding small little features that aren't useful. I'm finally at my wits end today. Customer support just brushes you off like a faceless corporation.

What are my alternatives?

Here's my grips: Why does uploading into a section, put the upload in the wrong section?

Why is section management so poor? Drag and drop is terrible. Why do touch areas dragged at the edge of an iPhone app not register touch most of the time on iPhone app? (I've complained for a year now)

Why when I drag to upload do I have to upload in the blue area? Why doesn't it allow me to upload by dragging anywhere onto the canvas?

Why did you add the terrible touchpoint cursor effect circle that I can't remove on mobile designs?

Why are you focusing on trivial features instead of fixing the view?

Why is inviting someone to invision so hard? Why do accounts for my new colleagues I need to get to review designs show the stupid sample designs? They always get confused and can't find my project.

Why is there no way to subscribe to a project to get a notice when there are new screens or replacement ones uploaded?

Why do I have to go personally explain to each person in my company how to use the invision account i just created for them? I have to explain how to switch to comments mode, how to browse, how they can use the arrow keys to flip between screens. Why?

I spend more time on boarding people in the company to invision than it would take to just email the screens.

37 comments

  • Seun DebiyiSeun Debiyi, over 8 years ago

    Try Marvelapp.com, I've been using it for the past year. Main reason I use this over invisionapp is the auto update thanks to dropbox.

    9 points
  • Clark Valberg, over 8 years ago (edited over 8 years ago )

    Thanks for the feedback Court!

    I'll be reaching out to you directly.

    7 points
  • Lee Fuhr, over 8 years ago

    I sort of agree with some of your complaints, but I adore InVision and my clients and partners do, too. I've left a trail of clients that now use it too, in fact.

    Nothing else does both the prototyping and the conversation stuff as well, in my experience.

    I wish LiveShare actually worked as advertised, and I definitely agree with some of your UI complaints. And the site gets painfully slow painfully often. But still, it's one of my absolute favorite tools.

    7 points
    • c kizer, over 8 years ago

      My life became massively better with Invision. It's lately now running around deleting sample projects for every person I invite to invision.

      Making sure they click the invitation link to a project even when they sign up for an account with the same email is frustrating. If they signup for account, offer to let them accept the project invitation by viewing it or something. 90% of the time customers delete the invitation and just sign up. The flow with sharing invision and explaining it to other people is my biggest grip. Explaining how to leave comments for me or view them is a big deal too.

      I'm hoping they do nice updates.

      1 point
      • Lee Fuhr, over 8 years ago

        I think all of your critiques here are totally valid.

        It sounds like they emailed you; they emailed me as well. It sounds like maybe they're taking this very seriously and will address our thoughtful concerns. Though that could be just words, so we'll have to see what comes of it. I'm really hoping this is the start of something beautiful. :)

        0 points
  • Sam Mathews, over 8 years ago

    Hey!

    I'd give Marvel a go, great guys.

    As to the feedback component, try www.Conjure.io. It's free and we're releasing some massive updates in the coming weeks. We'd love any and all feedback with it!

    Best, Sam

    5 points
  • Mike JohnsonMike Johnson, over 8 years ago

    I much prefer MarvelApp.

    My biggest problem with invision is the memory leaks in their JS. We have sometimes >100 screens and after leaving invision open for a long time it slows and slows until eventually Chrome crashes.

    5 points
    • Clark Valberg, over 8 years ago

      Good points on the JS Mike! When you're right, you're right. We've heard this several times from users with 100+ screens in a project.

      We've completely rewritten a big slice of our front-end code and you should expect to see all those performance issues magically disappear very shortly.

      This is also tied to our big v5 push -- due very soon.

      Keep in touch!

      -- Clark (co-founder @InVisionApp)

      9 points
  • Jonathan KelleyJonathan Kelley, over 8 years ago

    I would personally try Flinto or MarvelApp heard nothing but great things from them. I also get replies by email in around 20-30mins from both companies. Invision has strong points and weak points, essentially anything over 20 screens you start to expose a lot of weak points.

    3 points
  • Cristian MoiseiCristian Moisei, 6 years ago

    It's funny to see how 2 years later every single one of these bugs is still there.

    2 points
  • Andu PotoracAndu Potorac, over 6 years ago

    Invision seems buggy as shit. I experience the same bugs I experienced since I tried it a year ago, seems like there's no development on this front.

    Template areas are randomly disappearing off screens. It's frustrating to use..

    2 points
  • adrian ioadrian io, over 8 years ago

    If you don't need online feedback, why not use Keynote for simple click through demos or Axure if you need something more complex?

    2 points
  • Peter DeltondoPeter Deltondo, over 8 years ago

    I feel you on some of these points. InVision isn't perfect, but I've not found a better alternative.

    Our team uses this on a daily basis, and even though there are some shortcomings, we LOVE InVision. Unfortunately, most of our clients hate it and it's a constant battle to get them to use/understand/acclimate to the InVision environment. Most clients get frustrated with it, not knowing how to browse around easily, struggle with site or app pages that don't have EVERY SINGLE possible element linked (even though we're only intentionally showing 1-2 features or work done to that point). It's somewhat helpful, but to be honest, when push comes to shove, we tend to just load up the jpgs in a client meeting in Preview and walk the client through there. InVision is more helpful for internal review than ever showing a client.

    2 points
    • Lee Fuhr, over 8 years ago

      Yeah… how many times have you reminded them "Hold shift to highlight the hot spots."?

      0 points
      • c kizer, over 8 years ago

        Why can't the cursor change to reflect when you are over a hotspot? This would be so helpful! I could care less about the super annoying mobile touch point preview cursor.

        Clients and product managers, tech writers, CEO, CFO, and tons of extremely smart people at my company can't figure invision out. The sample projects throw them off.

        The CEO thought the Invision sample iPhone app was my redesign of our app, seriously he wanted to know why everything was so drastically changed. When I explained that those are fake apps, he asked why i didn't just send him the proper files to begin with.

        Signup is confusing, if user gets invite to project email, creates account they don't see the project. They then delete the invite but will never ever on earth see the project i sent to them now. I end up sending the link over and over, and helping them click the email or spending 30 minutes on the phone. Why can't I just invite people without them clicking to accept? anyone with there email is automatically accepting.

        These are core things. Also allow me to LOCK in the view on a project for per project settings. Sometime changes the view to iPhone 5, it changes it for everyone. I want to set them and not allow it to be changed.

        I just want to simply send the ENTIRE 60 screen project to a manager for review without having to spend 60 minutes showing them how to leave feedback, how to see my feedback, how to toggle to the next screen. The learning curve is so steep.

        They do all love the idea of a system where all the files go.

        0 points
  • J.B. ChaykowskyJ.B. Chaykowsky, over 8 years ago (edited over 8 years ago )

    I cannot vouch for or against Invision as I have only used it during a surface test. I do know of two products that have similar functionality.

    I tend to utilize Flinto to test mobile app flows. It has some great stock transitions and can do rudimentary animations. I also like its very simple UI.

    And also RedPen.io for feedback.

    While these might not be as robust as what I have seen with Invision they do their jobs extremely well.

    2 points
  • Daniel FoscoDaniel Fosco, over 8 years ago

    I'm with you on a lot of those bugs, but the prototyping + the feedback features are worth the hassle for me.

    2 points
  • Robert Novak, 6 years ago

    A lot of features but with lack of good basic functionalities. On their blog there a tons of posts about how to achieve the best user experience, but when it comes to their core business, it seems that they are not so super-cool consistent. Things work completely different in reality, right!

    Even after 2+ years users are still facing with the same problems in their fancy app which is btw. too expensive for that kind of experience.

    1 point
  • Jack Selby, 6 years ago

    Hi there

    Full disclosure: I work for the competition.

    I'm a bit late to this particular party, but I've been waiting until precisely now to jump in and comment.

    We've just launched do over, a super simple design collaboration tool for designers to easily share visuals (including PDFs), videos (yes, we love video content) and prototypes with their team and their clients, allowing them to quickly action feedback and efficiently close out creative projects.

    So that's my pitch. I'm not here to bash the competition in any way - invision has some great features, and with all the investment they have received, they are in a position to do lots of glossy marketing and have multiple teams roll out integration after integration and keep adding new functionality.

    But, at the end of the day, you can't be all things to all men, and so at do over we decided to focus on the essentials. Design does not happen in isolation - it is by nature a collaborative porcess, and fluid communication is at the heart of successful collaboration. That applies to working as an in-house team, but doubly so when you are charged with bringing a paying client's brief to life. We found this out the hard way - working remotely as a team on multiple projects meant that sometimes something got lost in the flow, or we weren't as up to speed as we should have been. So we designed do over primarily for ourselves. But then we found out that our clients loved how easy it was to use - after all, they just want to see their annotations actioned asap and sign off on a project. So we worked on it some more, and then some more an then a lot more, and now it's out there. And we honestly believe it addresses many if not all of the problems/issues/gripes outlined in this thread and others.

    But I would say that, wouldn't I?

    Give it a try and see what you think. Get in touch with us via the site and I'll set you up with a three-month free trial. Would love some expert feedback.

    Thanks for your time.

    1 point
  • Andre Gagnon, over 7 years ago

    If you're looking for something self-hosted, I would give ProjectHuddle a try:

    http://projecthuddle.io

    What's great about ProjectHuddle is it's hosted on your WordPress site, so it's infinitely customizable to your workflow. Annoyances you can change and tweak to your liking.

    1 point
  • Hampus OlssonHampus Olsson, over 8 years ago

    I experienced a horrible situation with inVision yesterday.

    I had a meeting with a client using Skype and while looking through the list of our 59 screens on inVision, the tab suddenly crashed, over and over again. I had to restart inVision over and over again. Having to explain this to the client over Skype while having the presentation was awful.

    I tried changing browser from Chrome to Firefox but experienced the same problem. It ended with my Mac completely freezing, force ending our Skype call, making my note app crash so I lost all the notes.

    In the end I had to use Skype with my phone while having the client describe what was in the screens on inVision and making him writing down notes.

    I really hope this will be fixed soon.

    1 point
  • Cody IddingsCody Iddings, over 8 years ago

    I've been using Invision since the beginning and it's been so fun watching them grow. I even got my whole company at Digital Telepathy onboard and I can't wait to see what they have in store for v5. Obviously, a tool can't be perfect. And I accept that. But I'm sure this post is going to make Invision even better. Mahalos!

    1 point
  • Gabriel BrodersenGabriel Brodersen, over 8 years ago (edited over 8 years ago )

    Auch I just got tempted to try InVision recently, but now you make me all sceptical. Especially from your experience/frustration of using it with clients.

    1 point
    • c kizer, over 8 years ago

      Invision is a fantastic tool. It just doesn't scale well when you have a large organization. I'd still recommend it. Try it out it's great for small teams, but it needs a big update to solve the "non-designer" can't figure tool out problem.

      0 points
  • Vipul. MishraVipul. Mishra, 6 years ago

    Disclaimer: I am associated with bunch of prototyping tools (Invision, Marvel, CanvasFlip, XD & More).

    For couple of years, I had an good impression for Invision and though it had hell lots of issues I went with it because clients knew about it and paid for it. I later tried Marvel and few others as well which were good for prototyping but still didn't add any value in my design-feedback workflow.

    I came across CanvasFlip few months ago and it looked lot more simpler but to my extreme surprise it's amazing if you care for some sort of analytics- heatmap, videos etc.. It's been used at some really large teams and I have been vouching for them for good.

    XD is again good stuff by Adobe, which is good for quick UI design and prototyping - modes are really good. but every time syncing my designs over cloud is a pain for me. Also, no good feedback/UT option so far.

    My suggestion - if you are done with Invision, give a swing to new tools like CanvasFlip (http://canvasflip.com) . I have been working with these guys and they listen to feedback, quite open to fixes and new features etc..

    0 points
  • Anton Miroshnichenko, over 6 years ago

    Hello Guys! My name is Anton. I'm trying to create some easy tool for designers that will include required features only. It is not a clone of inVision) It is called Designmap.

    https://app.designmap.ru

    Designmap contains:

    • File system.
    • Task manager.
    • Stickers. (It are comments you stick to certain place of image)

    Currently i'm trying to gather information about designers' workflow. And It will be appreciated if somebody can share with me its opinion regarding this question.

    My contacts:

    email: soooyc@gmail.com skype: soooyc whatsup, telegram: +7 938 124 14 79

    Or you can write me a couple of lines using this form:

    https://kysonic.typeform.com/to/w61k3K

    Thanks in advance!

    0 points
  • Jacek Zajączkowski, over 7 years ago

    Try Symu.co. Very easy tool for webdevelopers. https://symu.co/

    0 points
  • Andrei GadoiuAndrei Gadoiu, 8 years ago

    You should try ViewFlux. It's a solution we've created, which also offers both prototyping & design feedback. It's oriented on simplicity and usability. The UI is lighter and more conistent.

    0 points
  • Andrius PetraviciusAndrius Petravicius, over 8 years ago

    Personally for quick, simple and easy prototyping MarvelApp is great, also the free version has unlimited project number, so that's awesome too. For more complex and cool looking prototypes I suggest http://www.pixate.com it also has a pretty good free plan and lot's of features that are only about creating a more complex prototype.

    0 points
  • Aaron GitlinAaron Gitlin, over 8 years ago

    InVision, Flinto and Marvel are all good products that serve their need pretty well. I have a slight preference for Flinto/Marvel for smaller prototypes, as I think their UI lends itself well to quickly matching up say a dozen or so screens. In general I prefer InVision for larger projects, and that's what we use at my company. I spend a lot of time onboarding people too, but only because it's such a great tool and I want everyone to be able to use it.

    Tools take time to learn and new technology has flaws. I have my gripes with inVision as well, but I find their support helpful and their recent integration with Sketch source files has changed my whole workflow for the better.

    Is there room for improvement? Sure. But that's a good thing.

    0 points
  • Madhuri MMadhuri M, over 8 years ago

    I have been through similar issues and finally made a switch to Just in Mind. Though, Just in Mind has its flaws its relatively easy to use with it's visual selections. I would recommend just in mind to anybody starting off with Prototyping. Good Luck!

    http://www.justinmind.com/

    0 points
  • Will PooleWill Poole, over 8 years ago

    Hey Stephen Olmstead!

    As much as I love Invision, for me and the design team at work. There is one big UX grip we especially have with Invision, which is repetition...

    Most of our projects on Invision can be 50 screens minimum in most cases and when we have to upload new screens, showing various elements of a common page or screen. We have to individually update/amend the hotspots across all of them. This for us is a massive time waster!

    Is there any chance that you and your team could develop the Invision system to incorporate the feature: Hotspot Boiler Templating?

    I.e. Go into a project, select hypothetically the Home Page or the main screen of an App where the majority of common nav links are. Create the hotspots, then group them together and save it as a reusable hotspot template to apply across many screens in one go.

    Then one can simply go into each page and have all the common hotspots setup and all that is needed to be done to create/amend specific hotspots, instead of having to create/setup all the hotspots individually for every single screen.

    Let me know what you think and anyone out there on DN please let me know what you think and if you have any other idea to better develop this, shout.

    As having to repeat the same action hundreds of times over is a massive time killer!!!

    Cheers

    0 points