Adobe XD

Last updated

Adobe XD
Developer(s) Adobe Inc.
Stable release
57 / June 6, 2023;13 months ago (2023-06-06)
Operating system
Platform x64, ARM64
Available inEnglish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese
Type User interface builder
License Trialware
Website adobe.com/Xd

Adobe XD (also known as Adobe Experience Design [1] ) is a vector design tool for web and mobile applications, developed and published by Adobe Inc. It is available for macOS and Windows, and there are versions for iOS and Android to help preview the result of work directly on mobile devices. Adobe XD enables website wireframing and creating click-through prototypes. [2]

Contents

History

Adobe lastly announced they were developing a new interface design and prototyping tool under the name "Project Comet" at the Adobe MAX conference in October 2015, which was a response to the rising popularity of Sketch, a UX and UI design-focused vector editor, released in 2010. [3]

The first public beta was released for macOS as "Adobe Experience Design CC" to anyone with an Adobe account, on March 14, 2016. [2] A beta of Adobe XD was released for Windows 10 on December 13, 2016. [4] On October 18, 2017, Adobe announced that Adobe XD was out of beta. [5] As of June 22, 2023, Adobe XD was announced as discontinued as a purchasable item. [6]

After the failure of Adobe's attempt to acquire Figma, Adobe disclosed it would not "further invest" in XD. [7]

Features

Adobe XD creates user interfaces for mobile and web apps. Many features in XD were previously either hard to use or nonexistent in other Adobe applications like Illustrator or Photoshop. [8]

Repeat grid

Helps creating a grid of repeating items such as lists, and photo galleries.

Prototype and animation

Creates animated prototypes through linking artboards. These prototypes can be previewed on supported mobile devices.

Interoperability

XD supports and can open files from Illustrator, Photoshop, Sketch, and After Effects. In addition to the Adobe Creative Cloud, XD can also connect to other tools and services such as Slack and Microsoft Teams to collaborate. XD is also able to auto-adjust and move from macOS to Windows. For security, prototypes can be sent with password protection to ensure full disclosure. [9]

Content-Aware Layout

Design and edit components without the nudging or the tinkering. Content-Aware Layout aligns and evenly-spaces as you add, remove, or resize objects. Make adjustments with smart controls and get back to exploring.

Voice design

Apps can be designed using voice commands. In addition, what users create for smart assistants can be previewed as well.

Components

Users can create components to create logos, buttons, and other assets for reuse. Their appearance can change with the context where they are used.

Responsive resize

Responsive resize automatically adjusts and sizes pictures and other objects on the artboards. This allows the user to have their content automatically adjusted for different screens for different sized platforms such as mobile phones and PCs.

Plugins

XD is compatible with custom plugins that add additional features and uses. Plugins range from design to functionality, automation and animation.

Design education

Adobe offers educational articles, videos and live streams through various mediums to help designers learn Adobe XD and best practices.

Adobe XD Learn Hub

Launched in 2021, the Learn Hub [10] is a resource for learning how to use XD and what features the program offers. The Getting Started series [11] includes beginner to advanced tips & tricks [12] for designers looking to improve their work..

Adobe Live

Adobe Live [13] is a live stream hosted on Behance which delivers online training for a variety of Adobe applications, including Adobe XD, Photoshop and Illustrator.

Adobe MAX

Adobe MAX is an annual conference held by Adobe, showing various new products by Adobe in a format similar to other tech companies as well as various sessions and workshops. [14] What was previously an in-person event has since transitioned online.

Alternatives

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Inc.</span> American multinational software company

Adobe Inc., formerly Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American computer software company based in San Jose, California. It offers a wide range of programs from web design tools, photo manipulation and vector creation, through to video/audio editing, mobile app development, print layout and animation software. It has historically specialized in software for the creation and publication of a wide range of content, including graphics, photography, illustration, animation, multimedia/video, motion pictures, and print. Its flagship products include Adobe Photoshop image editing software; Adobe Illustrator vector-based illustration software; Adobe Acrobat Reader and the Portable Document Format (PDF); and a host of tools primarily for audio-visual content creation, editing and publishing. Adobe offered a bundled solution of its products named Adobe Creative Suite, which evolved into a subscription software as a service (SaaS) offering named Adobe Creative Cloud. The company also expanded into digital marketing software and in 2021 was considered one of the top global leaders in Customer Experience Management (CXM).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Photoshop</span> Raster graphics editing software

Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1987 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the most used tool for professional digital art, especially in raster graphics editing. Owing to its fame, the program's name has become genericised as a verb although Adobe disapproves of such use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Illustrator</span> Vector graphics editor from Adobe Inc.

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design software developed and marketed by Adobe. Originally designed for the Apple Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began in 1985. Along with Creative Cloud, Illustrator CC was released. The latest version, Illustrator 2024, was released on October 10, 2023, and is the 28th generation in the product line. Adobe Illustrator was reviewed as the best vector graphics editing program in 2021 by hpMagazine.

iPhoto Digital photograph manipulation software by Apple

iPhoto is a discontinued digital photograph manipulation software application developed by Apple Inc. It was included with every Mac computer from 2002 to 2015, when it was replaced with Apple's Photos application. Originally sold as part of the iLife suite of digital media management applications, iPhoto is able to import, organize, edit, print and share digital photos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Creative Suite</span> Discontinued software suite

Adobe Creative Suite (CS) is a discontinued software suite of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications developed by Adobe Systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OmniGraffle</span> Diagramming and digital illustration application

OmniGraffle is a diagramming and digital illustration application for macOS and iOS created by The Omni Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motion graphic design</span> Subset of graphic design

Motion graphic design, also known as motion design, is a subset of graphic design which combines design with animation and/or filmmaking, video production, and filmic techniques. Examples include kinetic typography and graphics used in film and television opening sequences, and station identification logos of some television channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krita</span> Digital painting and 2D animation software

Krita is a free and open-source raster graphics editor designed primarily for digital art and 2D animation. Originally created for Linux, the software also runs on Windows, macOS, Haiku, Android, and ChromeOS, and features an OpenGL-accelerated canvas, colour management support, an advanced brush engine, non-destructive layers and masks, group-based layer management, vector artwork support, and switchable customisation profiles.

A number of vector graphics editors exist for various platforms. Potential users of these editors will make a comparison of vector graphics editors based on factors such as the availability for the user's platform, the software license, the feature set, the merits of the user interface (UI) and the focus of the program. Some programs are more suitable for artistic work while others are better for technical drawings. Another important factor is the application's support of various vector and bitmap image formats for import and export.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Lightroom</span> Photo editing and management software

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, usually called Lightroom, is an image organization and processing application developed by Adobe. It is licensed as a standalone subscription or as part of Creative Cloud. It is supported on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and tvOS. Its primary uses include importing, saving, viewing, organizing, tagging, editing, and sharing large numbers of digital images. Lightroom's editing functions include white balance, presence, tone, tone curve, HSL, color grading, detail, lens corrections, and calibration manipulation, as well as transformation, spot removal, red eye correction, graduated filters, radial filters, and adjustment brushing. The name Lightroom is a play on the darkrooms used for processing film.

User experience design, upon which is the centralized requirements for "User Experience Design Research", defines the experience a user would go through when interacting with a company, its services, and its products. User experience design is a user centered design approach because it considers the user's experience when using a product or platform. Research, data analysis, and test results drive design decisions in UX design rather than aesthetic preferences and opinions, for which is known as UX Design Research. Unlike user interface design, which focuses solely on the design of a computer interface, UX design encompasses all aspects of a user's perceived experience with a product or website, such as its usability, usefulness, desirability, brand perception, and overall performance. UX design is also an element of the customer experience (CX), and encompasses all design aspects and design stages that are around a customer's experience.

Axure RP Pro / Team is a software for creating prototypes and specifications for websites and applications. It offers drag and drop placement, resizing, and formatting of widgets.

ProtoShare is a collaborative software tool from Astound Commerce, used for creating, reviewing, and refining website, mobile and web application prototypes. It enables individuals and companies to visualize project requirements by building website wireframes and application prototypes that team members and stakeholders can then review and comment on in real-time. ProtoShare is not a Flash tool; it uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. ProtoShare also helps development teams move from the waterfall method to the agile process through iterative development. It is available online as a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) tool or as self-hosted for enterprise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe FreeHand</span> Discontinued graphics software

Adobe FreeHand was a computer application for creating two-dimensional vector graphics oriented primarily to professional illustration, desktop publishing and content creation for the Web. FreeHand was similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW and Xara Designer Pro. Because of FreeHand's dedicated page layout and text control features, it also compares to Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress. Professions using FreeHand include graphic design, illustration, cartography, fashion and textile design, product design, architects, scientific research, and multimedia production.

Adobe Edge Animate, formerly known as just Adobe Edge, is a web development tool developed by Adobe Systems that uses HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS3 functionality. It later became part of the Adobe Edge suite, and was available as a free 30-day trial download from Adobe Creative Cloud. As of November 2015, Edge Animate is no longer being actively developed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Creative Cloud</span> Software as a service offering from Adobe Inc.

Adobe Creative Cloud is a set of applications and services from Adobe that gives subscribers access to a collection of software used for graphic design, video editing, web development, photography, along with a set of mobile applications and also some optional cloud services. In Creative Cloud, a monthly or annual subscription service is delivered over the Internet. Software from Creative Cloud is downloaded from the Internet, installed directly on a local computer and used as long as the subscription remains valid. Online updates and multiple languages are included in the CC subscription. Creative Cloud was initially hosted on Amazon Web Services, but a new agreement with Microsoft has the software, beginning with the 2017 version, hosted on Microsoft Azure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sketch (software)</span> Vector graphics editing software for MacOS

Sketch is a vector graphics editor for macOS developed by the Dutch company Sketch B.V.. It was first released on 7 September 2010 and won an Apple Design Award in 2012. It also has a web application that allows users to share files online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variable font</span> Font file with many design variants

A variable font (VF) is a font file that is able to store a continuous range of design variants. An entire typeface can be stored in such a file, with an infinite number of fonts available to be sampled.

Figma is a collaborative web application for interface design, with additional offline features enabled by desktop applications for macOS and Windows. The feature set of Figma focuses on user interface and user experience design, with an emphasis on real-time collaboration, utilising a variety of vector graphics editor and prototyping tools. The Figma mobile app for Android and iOS allows viewing and interacting with Figma prototypes in real-time on mobile and tablet devices.

References

  1. "Adobe Experience Design CC (Beta)". www.adobe.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Lardinois, Frederic (March 14, 2016). "Adobe launches Experience Design CC, a new tool for UX designers". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  3. Rhodes, Margaret (October 18, 2015). "Adobe's Project Comet Is a Start-to-Finish UX Design App". Wired . Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  4. Hassan, Mehedi (December 13, 2016). "Adobe XD now available to Windows 10 users in beta". MSPoweruser. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  5. Lardinois, Frederic (October 18, 2017). "Adobe's XD prototyping and wireframing tool is now out of beta". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  6. "Adobe XD put on life support ahead of Figma acquisition". June 22, 2023.
  7. Ford, Brody (January 30, 2024). "Adobe Gives Up on Web-Design Product to Rival Figma After Deal Collapse". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  8. "Adobe XD. The New Hope". Futurice. January 30, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  9. "Create and share designs, layouts, and prototypes quickly | Adobe XD CC". www.adobe.com. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  10. "Get Started with Adobe XD | Adobe XD". www.adobe.com. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  11. "Learn XD Design | Adobe XD". www.adobe.com. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  12. "Introduction to prototyping a gaming experience | Adobe XD". www.adobe.com. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  13. Behance. "Adobe Live". www.behance.net. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  14. "Adobe MAX – The Creativity Conference | Review on demand". Adobe. Retrieved March 10, 2022.