Can Designer 100% replace Sketch App?

[rcorbari]

Hi all,

 

Given that I purchased Designer and I absolutely love it (don't use Illustrator CC anymore), I would ask to experienced designers if - according to your opinion - Designer can completely replace Bohemian Coding Sketch for web design and app prototyping, including exporting to Xcode.

 

Artboards are here, vectors are much better in Designer, but it seems that lack of plugins and CSS or HTML export penalise AD.

 

I welcome any comment.

[VIPStephan]

It totally depends on what you’re doing with it. I’m designing websites and I never used Sketch in the first place, so I’m not missing it (or, AD can “replace” it 100%, respectively). I come from Fireworks and even though that one had HTML/CSS export I never used that feature so I’m not missing it in AD either. As a matter of fact, I considered switching to Sketch for a moment when the discontinuation of Fireworks was announced but what prevented me from doing it was the lack of support for the import of PSD and AI files which I need from time to time.

 

What I am kind of missing (compared to Fireworks) is “pages” and “states” – artboards aren’t a proper replacement for this, in my opinion, so if Sketch has that, it would also not be a feature I’d miss.

[rcorbari]

Thanks for the answer. So, how do you go from AD to HTML?

[SMA]

It totally depends on what you’re doing with it. I’m designing websites and I never used Sketch in the first place, so I’m not missing it (or, AD can “replace” it 100%, respectively). I come from Fireworks and even though that one had HTML/CSS export I never used that feature so I’m not missing it in AD either. As a matter of fact, I considered switching to Sketch for a moment when the discontinuation of Fireworks was announced but what prevented me from doing it was the lack of support for the import of PSD and AI files which I need from time to time.

 

What I am kind of missing (compared to Fireworks) is “pages” and “states” – artboards aren’t a proper replacement for this, in my opinion, so if Sketch has that, it would also not be a feature I’d miss.

AD has pages planned for it, see roadmap: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/842-affinity-designer-feature-roadmap/

Don't know how's their implementation will turn out though.

[SMA]

Thanks for the answer. So, how do you go from AD to HTML?

Not going to happen, at least for now. They're focusing on what's on the roadmap first. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/1654-css-export-for-layers/

But trust me, i'm with you on this.

[VIPStephan]

Thanks for the answer. So, how do you go from AD to HTML?

I’m writing HTML by hand with a dedicated code editor (namely Coda). I do understand that an HTML export feature would be convenient for quick demos of a design but it would never be appropriate for production.

[SMA]

I’m writing HTML by hand with a dedicated code editor (namely Coda). I do understand that an HTML export feature would be convenient for quick demos of a design but it would never be appropriate for production.

Agree on the need to learn the nitty gritty of HTML + CSS coding @ least. After that, give a go @ JS too. These 3 are essential!