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The reason I didn't recommend Illustrator is that, like Phostoshop, it is powerful and rich in features but also has a clunky and clumsy interface. It is not as

The reason I didn't recommend Illustrator is that, like Phostoshop, it is powerful and rich in features but also has a clunky and clumsy interface. It is not as optimised or streamlined for UI design as newer apps such as Sketch or Affinity Designer (IMO). Illustrator is subscription-based too, unlike Sketch and Affinity Designer. For example, purchasing Sketch gets you one year of updates, but if you don't upgrade or renew after a year you can keep using the version of the app you downloaded. This is different from Adobe's subscription model where the moment you stop paying your monthly or yearly subscription fee, the app stops working.

seanmcdirmid 9y ago
If your job is a professional visual designer, then Sketch and Affinity aren’t going to cut it, which are more suited to wire frames than production vector assets (and vice versa, illustrator sucks at wire framing). If you are just a pure interaction designer, then you might be able to get by without an Adobe CS subscription at all. If you are wire framing, then being vector really has nothing especially to do with it, it’s just that this is the default for block and drop style apps. In that way, PowerPoint is vector also, but no one talks about refining Bézier curves with it.
- open-source-ux 9y ago
  I disagree. For wireframing, vector tools are essential because of the ease with which you can move and scale elements. Sketch and Affinity Designer are perfectly capable of exporting production vector assets - Sketch can even export CSS attributes. Sketch in particular has a thriving eco-system of plugins. An online search quickly reveals a plethora of Sketch templates with pre-made UI elements for all operating systems and platforms: not wireframes, but high fidelity mock-up designs.
  - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
    Sketch is not a serious vector production tool, at least not in the same league as Illustrator. It is proficient at wire framing, hence the name “sketch.” There isn’t much difference from a wire frame and a mock up in that context.

seanmcdirmid 9y ago

If your job is a professional visual designer, then Sketch and Affinity aren’t going to cut it, which are more suited to wire frames than production vector assets (and vice versa, illustrator sucks at wire framing). If you are just a pure interaction designer, then you might be able to get by without an Adobe CS subscription at all. If you are wire framing, then being vector really has nothing especially to do with it, it’s just that this is the default for block and drop style apps. In that way, PowerPoint is vector also, but no one talks about refining Bézier curves with it.

open-source-ux 9y ago
I disagree. For wireframing, vector tools are essential because of the ease with which you can move and scale elements. Sketch and Affinity Designer are perfectly capable of exporting production vector assets - Sketch can even export CSS attributes. Sketch in particular has a thriving eco-system of plugins. An online search quickly reveals a plethora of Sketch templates with pre-made UI elements for all operating systems and platforms: not wireframes, but high fidelity mock-up designs.
- seanmcdirmid 9y ago
  Sketch is not a serious vector production tool, at least not in the same league as Illustrator. It is proficient at wire framing, hence the name “sketch.” There isn’t much difference from a wire frame and a mock up in that context.