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Zeplin.io integration/cooperation


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If Affinity Designer would have it's own Viewer App or Service for measuring sizes and distances and copying CSS properties, we wouldn't have to rely on PSD exports anymore. My workflow is like: Designer (Illustrator until I switched) >> PSD Export >> Avocode / Zeplin. 

 

It would be so much better if it was Affinity Designer >> Affinity Viewer.

 

Done.

 

:D

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I completely agree and I am a bit bummed out because of this feature missing. I've jumped ship from sketch bevause Affinity Designer was more productive to get designs and icons done, but I since I always work with web devs they always ask for zeplin or invision links, which I now cannot give. We really need this integration.

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I've never understood the appeal of plugins like Zeplin (which is a subscription service). You have to rent your software from Adobe or the makers of Sketch (no thanks) and then you have to rent your plugins too? Where does it end?

 

Now you have the opportunity to use quality, non-rented software like Designer and Photo and you are asking to be able to add subscription plugins to it? No thanks.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 24/04/2018 at 9:00 PM, Hokusai said:

I've never understood the appeal of plugins like Zeplin (which is a subscription service). You have to rent your software from Adobe or the makers of Sketch (no thanks) and then you have to rent your plugins too? Where does it end?

 

Now you have the opportunity to use quality, non-rented software like Designer and Photo and you are asking to be able to add subscription plugins to it? No thanks.

 

I'll try to best clarify the need to integrate to Zeplin or other third-party solutions for development handover (at least based on my daily experiences working as a UX Designer).

 

- Once you design a UI, you have to deliver it to developers, in a way they are able to implement the front end as closest as possible to design specifications. 

- Solutions like Zeplin allow you to, with a single click, upload the whole file to a system that can be accessed by many people (mainly stakeholders and developers), where they can check automatically generated specifications and exportable assets (icons in png, svg, etc), with color swatches, font styles, etc. This saves hours and maybe days of unnecessary work.

- Platforms like Zeplin have a very specific purpose: allow people to review files and get assets, without the need to install and learn specialized design software (which requires buying more licenses).

- I freelance for companies which usually pay for Zeplin licenses because the content hosted there is their own property, while the software I use (Affinity, Sketch) is my property. So it does not add extra costs to my budget.

 

Now, looking at Affinity main features and roadmap, we can tell that they are more focused on illustration than on UI design. They made some effort implementing constraints and symbols, but these features are rather limited at the moment.

 

I think that implementing something as specific as a "Zeplin" module inside Affinity Designer, with a whole new set of features, would cost some tens of thousands of dollars and would benefit only a portion of their user base.

 

So, why not provide integration to third-party software like Zeplin, which would be far easier to handle and to give support?

 

In my opinion, if you don't see advantages in this request, maybe you should just not endorse it, or maybe just give a better alternative. Meanwhile, the almost sole reason why I hadn't adopted Affinity Designer as my main UI design tool, is precisely because of the lack of features like these.

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, hperticarati said:

- I freelance for companies which usually pay for Zeplin licenses because the content hosted there is their own property, while the software I use (Affinity, Sketch) is my property. So it does not add extra costs to my budget.

 

I think that implementing something as specific as a "Zeplin" module inside Affinity Designer, with a whole new set of features, would cost some tens of thousands of dollars and would benefit only a portion of their user base. So, why not provide integration to third-party software like Zeplin, which would be far easier to handle and to give support?

 

In my opinion, if you don't see advantages in this request, maybe you should just not endorse it, or maybe just give a better alternative. Meanwhile, the almost sole reason why I hadn't adopted Affinity Designer as my main UI design tool, is precisely because of the lack of features like these.

 

 

 

hperticarati,

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with the development team providing the ability to use different plugins with Designer, in fact I think it would be very useful. If people want to pay a monthly fee to use a plugin, I have no problem with that. I just don't think the development team should be spending time and money towards making sure a plugin that uses the subscription model works with Designer. I don't see the logic in renting software and certainly not plugins. Sure, like in your case, if someone else is footing the bill to rent the software then it is fine but I find it ridiculous that companies like Adobe and others expect its users to pay a monthly (or yearly) fee to use their software for the rest of their lives (or until they no longer need or want to have access to them). 

 

I would guess that the number one reason so many people search out, find and then buy and use Affinity products is because they are looking for a capable alternative to Adobe's software and forced subscription model (I'd guess that number 2 is a lack of innovation and bloated software from Adobe). Affinity users are using their freedom of choice to support a solution that doesn't require a subscription. So why would they want to escape the subscription model with the software only to get back into it with a plugin? While I think that the lack of a required subscription is what attracts people to Affinity products, I think that the ease of use, the incredible power and innovative features are what keeps people using it. I'm guessing that the vast majority of people here aren't interesting in paying a subscription for a plugin. If the developers add plugin support for Designer (which I'm guessing they will) and once they do, then it is up to the developers of Zeplin to make sure it works with Designer. 

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36 minutes ago, Hokusai said:

If the developers add plugin support for Designer (which I'm guessing they will) and once they do, then it is up to the developers of Zeplin to make sure it works with Designer. 

 

 

ok, so anyway, you agree that "Zeplin.io integration/cooperation" would be precisely inside the matters of having a plugin support, and that this would precisely attend to what we are asking for?

I'm a bit confused here, because if the answer is yes, then we are all on the same page :)

 

I really think that the monetization model should not be the focus of this topic.

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18 hours ago, hperticarati said:

ok, so anyway, you agree that "Zeplin.io integration/cooperation" would be precisely inside the matters of having a plugin support, and that this would precisely attend to what we are asking for?

I'm a bit confused here, because if the answer is yes, then we are all on the same page :)

I really think that the monetization model should not be the focus of this topic.

hperticarti,

I do agree with you that plugin support for Designer would be a welcomed addition. I think the original poster should have requested "Adding Plugin Support for Designer" instead of Zeplin integration/cooperation. They are actually separate issues and I think it confuses the matter. I think the issue of the monetization model is very important here though. The original request was for the developers of Designer to work with the developers of Zeplin, which I think would be a mistake. The reason being is, Serif has been pretty clear that they feel the subscription model isn't good (at least not for consumers). So if they work with a company to help to make a plugin available for their software that requires a subscription, that would go counter to what they've been saying about subscriptions. If Serif decides to let 3rd parties to develop plugins for Designer and then the makers of Zeplin develop the plugin without Serif's help then Serif's hands are clean and the only ones to blame are the people who decide it is okay to rent plugins. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

@Hokusai I've sent emails for both Affinity and Zeplin support teams.

Affinity team said that plugins are not on the roadmap right now, and Zeplin team said that they can't implement the integration with Affinity because there's not a plugin or API system. :(

Maybe we should just create this new topic asking for a plugin system.

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hperticarati,

Thanks for following up and good job checking with both the Affinity developers and with the developers of Zeplin. Having plugin support in Designer would be very useful and I'm sure that it will be added to Designer eventually. Before you start a new thread requesting adding Plugin support to Designer, do a quick search to see if there already is a thread about it. I did a quick search but I couldn't find anything but maybe I just missed it.

Best regards,
Hokusai

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