Nowadays there are many tools that can help you produce digital products, and they vary from design and developing tools to web creation tools.
UX and UI are two different areas of web design, yet they work hand-in-hand. Below we are going to take a look at some UI and UX tools that you may find handy for your design process.
1. Adobe XD
Although an entire generation of designers grew up using Adobe Photoshop, it was never built with UI designers in mind. Adobe recognized this issue and started working on a new app called XD.
Adobe made XD as pluggable as possible, and numerous Sketch plugins have already been ported to XD, but it also offers integration with services such as Google Sheets, Airtable, Trello and others.
Adobe XD is an all-in-one solution that covers designing, prototyping, and sharing.
Compatibility: Mac/Windows users
Pricing: XD Starter Plan (Free), XD ($9.99/mo per user), XD for teams ($22.99/mo per user)
2. Sketch
Sketch literally revolutionized UI design, inspiring a whole new wave of intuitive UI design tools. Sketch is a professional design tool for Mac that utilizes a fully vector-based workflow. The workspace is clean and sleek, making it easier for a new user to adapt to the tool.
Compatibility: Mac OS
Pricing: $99/year
3. Figma
Figma is a collaborative design tool quite similar to Sketch, but with one big difference – Figma runs 100% in your browser and lets you collaborate with your colleagues in real-time. Getting started with Figma is easy – you just need to sign up for a free account at figma.com and you are ready to start your first draft inside your browser.
Figma’s noteworthy features: easy switching between design and prototype modes, fast sharing and real-time feedback, powerful editing features. The nice thing about Figma is that you don’t need to save anything on your computer as all files are stored in the cloud, and accessible anywhere. If you enjoy a collaborative design workflow, Figma is for you.
Compatibility: Mac, Windows, Chrome, Linux
Pricing: Free (for up to 2 editors and 3 projects), Professional ($12 per editor/month), Organization ($45 per editor/month)
4. InVision/InVision Studio
InVision Studio is a prototyping and animation tool that allows you to create interesting, interactive prototypes, communicate your designs to the team and clients, and test your designs before the development stage. InVision Studio is part of the InVision suite of tools, which also includes InVision Cloud and InVision DSM.
Compatibility: Mac, Windows
Pricing: from $13/month for individuals, or $89/month for teams of five
5. Origami Studio
Origami Studio is a macOS desktop application created and used by Facebook. There is also a mobile app counterpart, which allows you to view your prototypes on a real device.
Compatibility: Mac OS
Pricing: Free
6. Balsamiq
Wireframing is essential for every mobile app designer – and that is the reason Balsamiq needs to be part of your toolset. Balsamiq is a mockup and wireframing tool that enables you to create, sketch, and share the user interface mockups for web and mobile apps. The drag-and-drop elements make life easier and you can link buttons to other pages. This means you can quickly start to plan your interfaces and then share them with your team or clients.
7. FramerX
FramerX is a rich, React-based design tool that lets any designer draw out their interface components and instantly send them over the engineering team for collaboration.
FramerX possesses an awesome community, with many kinds of tutorials and issues discussed.
Compatibility: Mac OS
Pricing: Starting from $12/month
8. Proto.io
As the name alludes, Proto.io specializes in helping designers to prototype different templates.
Proto.io was rolled out in 2011 as a commercial web platform for creating prototypes for iPhones and iPads. Main features: allows you to record users’ tests, offers sharable prototypes, provides support for VR prototyping, and offers add-ons.
Pricing: Starting from $24/month
9. Axure RP 9
Rolled out in 2003, Axure is a great choice for UX designers who need to create specifications for designs and animations in supreme detail. Axure includes support for conditional flow interactions, responsive design and dynamic content, as well as high and low-fidelity prototyping. All in all, Axure is a serious tool for serious designers.
Compatibility: Axure RP 9 Pro ($29 per user, per month), Axure RP 9 Team ($49 per user, per month), Axure for Enterprise (custom)
Pricing: from $29 per user/per month
10. UXPin
UXPin is a web-based and on-premise solution that helps businesses of all sizes create website wireframes and design applications with prototyping, collaboration, HTML imports, data management and more.
UXPin can also integrate with Sketch and Photoshop, enabling designers to convert static files into interactive prototypes without losing layers. UXPin is mainly used by larger design teams that need to work off the same styles and guides, saving time with product development when collaboration plays a large part.
Compatibility: Mac, Windows, Web
Pricing: Basic ($19/month), Advanced ($29/month), Enterprise (Custom)
Which one to choose?
These ten UI and UX tools are some of the best options for designers currently available on the market. When Sketch first appeared, it completely disrupted the interface design space, but Figma and Adobe XD have significantly evolved and presented themselves as new challengers.
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