23 comments

  • Mattan IngramMattan Ingram, over 7 years ago

    I honestly think the only reason people think Sketch is so great is because they came from Photoshop instead of an actually decent vector program like Illustrator.

    Sketch's tools for manipulating objects (not illustration or drawing, just scaling and positioning rectangles) are kind of pathetic compared to Illustrator. Sketch just wins out in the ease of export and bitmap rendering.

    I don't hate Sketch, but it is nowhere close to being as good as everyone makes it out to be if you have used things other than Photoshop.

    10 points
    • Marko VuleticMarko Vuletic, over 7 years ago

      Sketch can't compare to Illustrator's vector ability. Most likely because Illustrator launched on 1986 and there are hundreds of people working on it. I'd say Sketch is doing an amazing job since it's still just a kid on the block with a team of 13. They've come a long way. :)

      3 points
      • Mattan IngramMattan Ingram, over 7 years ago

        Certainly, but I don't understand how they prioritize things. I am not asking for the nitty-gritty drawing tools Illustrator has, I'm asking for basic functionality like a 9-point reference-picker or functional horizontal distribution. That doesn't require hundreds of developers to do (a single person made a fixed horizontal distribution extension in one day) and aren't the types of features we should rely on extensions for.

        What I'm saying is that I think some of these features are not a priority in Sketch because it is designed as a replacement for Photoshop rather than an improvement on existing vector tools, which is a shame considering Photoshop was never meant to be used to design UIs.

        Furthermore web-based design tools are rapidly catching up with Sketch's feature set, so it's becoming harder to see how Sketch will differentiate itself as a necessary tool in the near future if it does not stand out as a more functional vector UI tool (which aside from popularity it does not). I see them soon being overtaken by a tool that does both design and interaction out-of-the-box (unfortunately many of the current web tools are also sorely lacking in basic tools like the reference point selector since once again they are being designed for people who are coming from the Photoshop and Sketch world).

        4 points
      • John PJohn P, over 7 years ago

        I did the same with Photoshop and Fireworks, Illustrator has always been best for drawing icons.

        But Illustrator is awful for laying out a website and exporting those layouts at a decent level of quality and accuracy however.

        0 points
        • Mattan IngramMattan Ingram, over 7 years ago

          I don't think Illustrator is awful at laying out websites, it IS awful at exporting those layouts.

          I'm curious as to what you like in other programs for layout that Illustrator does poorly? There is no way Photoshop or Sketch beat it.

          0 points
          • John PJohn P, over 7 years ago

            Sketch and Fireworks absolutely beat it.

            They're just cleaner interaction wise, everything in Illustrator feels like I'm trying to perform heart surgery with a pair of mittens on. You can tell the developers of Illustrator never actually use it (it's development was outsourced to India). Each interaction becomes so fiddly, even basic things like layer and appearance management are a clumsy obscure mess.

            0 points
            • Mattan IngramMattan Ingram, over 7 years ago

              Sketch does handle layers and overall UI aesthetics better, but in terms of pure functionality it is sorely lacking.

              I think it may be because a lot of designers I have watched work don't use a lot of the most beneficial tools available in Illustrator (like the 9-point reference selector or the Command-D duplicate/move shortcut) and do it the slower way not realizing how much faster they could be.

              1 point
    • Nathan NNathan N, over 7 years ago

      I really dislike the pen tool in Sketch, every time I try to use it I just end up drawing my icons in Illustrator. For basic shapes and styling however Sketch feels much faster than Illustrator or Photoshop to me.

      1 point
      • Chase ThompsonChase Thompson, over 7 years ago

        I love sketch but I still draw icons in illustrator, it's just much more polished for me. That's OK though because I think the adobe products are perfect to use in tandem with sketch.

        1 point
    • Robert MapleRobert Maple, over 7 years ago

      Completely agree. I've given sketch a go numerous times but always come back to illustrator. Probably the biggest thing I miss each time is the ability to double click a group and isolate those paths.

      0 points
  • tony wtony w, over 7 years ago

    Is there an article why sketch is not the perfect tool for interface design? I'd like to read that one.

    6 points
  • Cody Gallner, over 7 years ago

    Comet will replace it soon.

    2 points
  • Chris GillisChris Gillis, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    The tool that gets your ideas out of your brain and into product is the 'Perfect Tool' for UI design. Sometimes that is software, sometimes that a pencil, sometimes its a pen and paper, etc.

    2 points
  • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, over 7 years ago

    perfect? no. but it's the best we've got right now.

    2 points
  • Li ChaiLi Chai, over 7 years ago

    It's vector based!

    1 point
  • Andy LeverenzAndy Leverenz, over 7 years ago

    Any tool is perfect for interface design if it meets the needs of the end consumer.

    0 points
  • Dean HaydenDean Hayden, over 7 years ago

    I'm about to have a stretch of working in Sketch for the next month or so. Be interesting to see what's improved and fixed since last August (last time I used it).

    Since that time I've taken advantage of new PS features (artboards, improved export options, interface customisation, shared libraries, linked files) and it'll be good to see how they compare.

    0 points