Adobe XD (Adobe Experience Design) is an essential software of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. It aims to facilitate the design of models, wireframes and prototypes and lead to pleasant and efficient digital interfaces.

Adobe XD It is a powerful UX / UI prototyping software that allows web designers to create interactive prototypes and modify them, in collaboration with the other stakeholders of the project. This tool is more specific than its analogues of the Adobe, Illustrator or Photoshop suite, since it is entirely dedicated to GUI design. However, it is perfectly compatible with the other software of the Adobe Suite.

What is Adobe XD and Why is it Useful to Use it?

Adobe XD was launched in October 2017. It is presented as the ideal tool to facilitate the design of an ergonomic user interface and to achieve a flexible version on different mobile devices: tablets, iPhone, Smartphone, etc.

It provides the user with all the tools required, in addition to smooth interaction, to create a UI prototype with high graphical fidelity and suitable for any type of user experience.

Using Adobe XD, the designer brings the static UX / UI mockup to life and makes it interactive, setting up a cohesive navigation path, with animations, micro-interactions, transitions and immersive scrolling effects. These movements are performed following the activation of certain triggers by the user, such as touch gestures, voice commands, the click of a button or an image, etc.

Is Adobe XD free?

This is a question that comes up often. This solution exists in a free version with a limited number of features. It is also possible to test a demo version and then use the paid versions intended for companies, small teams or freelancers. Adobe XD can also be used for a wider use integrating the other software of the Adobe Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, etc.

See Adobe XD pricing

Where to download Adobe XD?

See the XD download and installation platform here.

Who is Adobe XD for?

This software is a complete UX / UI tool, intended for UX / UI designers, graphic design teams, web developers, web integrators, clients, etc. It helps to optimize communication between designers and other.project stakeholders.

A quick start

XD is also characterized by its quick and easy handling, thanks to its user-friendly and pleasantly hierarchical interface. For example, the designer can easily move blocks of text, change the color, size or style of the font, etc.

Creation of animated prototypes

This software allows the UX Designer to model, prototype and animate the interfaces of a website or a mobile application. As a result, this professional can anticipate the structure of the final HMI Interface, through the design of an animated prototype, which contains all the expected interactions.

Functional UX prototypes

The biggest benefit of Adobe XD is to create working UX prototypes, which simulate the expected operation of the UI before its final production.

Why Adobe XD?

Adobe XD is an needful UI / UX design tool, providing the following features:

• Involve the customer in the entire design process. This ensures errors are corrected faster and action is taken with better responsiveness to customer complaints. This is the solution to progress faster in the project.
• Instantly adjust the interface appearance based on customer recommendations. This strengthens team credibility and customer satisfaction.
• Take advantage of the complementarity between the different Adobe suite software and some third-party tools, to create a powerful interface. The user, in fact, can integrate external modules (import photos, icons, colors, effects, etc.) in his workspace, through plugins and without leaving the Adobe XD interface.

Users can also export their project to other software from the Adobe suite: Photoshop, Illustrator or After Effects, to edit or create animations, in order to refine their creations.

• Realize a considerable time saving, thanks to the easy reuse of the elements of the interface HMI. This makes it easy to apply the same change to all instances of a component.
• Give a touch of modernity to UI components (shapes, texts, etc.) and a touch of depth to the user interface, thanks to the 3D transformation and timed transitions, provided by Adobe XD.
• Easily adapt the design of digital interfaces to responsive design. The user can preview, at any time, his creations on the considered simulator: desktop, smartphone, tablet, etc.
• Share designs, especially on Behance, to exchange experiences and collect useful comments and recommendations.

Adobe XD: a Collaborative Real-Time Prototyping Tool

Adobe XD complements the UX / UI Designer toolkit. Like all prototyping applications, it has its enthusiasts and its detractors.

UX Designer, Graphic Designer and Front-end Developer collaborate to produce qualitative UI / UX prototyping. This work integrates the interaction design and draws on the elaborate wireframes. This helps to create a clear information design that emphasizes interactions with the interface. In addition, it helps to predict the main user journeys.

The functional prototype is a real solution for designing and testing the ergonomics of the digital interface. In addition, it helps developers and the entire production team to assess the technical skills of HMI interfaces.

The UX / UI prototype also serves as an important communication medium, to analyze the creations made and optimize them, during each iteration and each user test.

Adobe XD is an effective prototyping tool that unites concerned members around the same project. This promotes team collaboration in real time, on the same workspace.

Thus, they can:

• Share their creations in order to improve their quality together. This improves team synergy and strengthens collaboration among its members.
• Create a centralized system design. The XD tool allows you to create a Creative Cloud library of components, which brings together all the resources needed for design: sizes and shapes of components, colors, sounds, icons, typographic styles, etc. design system ensures the sharing of resources, which makes it possible to strengthen communication between designers and developers and to quickly propagate the adjustments to be made, which makes the team more operational. This data library is always updated with latest changes, ensuring access to reliable information at all times. This is the guarantee of better harmony between workflows and efficient collaboration without any redundancy or inconsistency of data.
• Find ideas and inspiration quickly with personalized user interface kits. These are cross-platform kits that allow you to create interactive prototypes that adapt to different environments: Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, etc.), Windows (Universal Windows Platform), Amazon, etc.

This tool offers a great comfort to the user during his work, through its interesting features which make the dialogue with the interface of Adobe XD more adorable. As an example: it is possible to work on artboards which can be modified at the same time. Thus, the designer can navigate between his screens in one click, to compare the performance of his user interfaces and assess their consistency.

The Benefits of Using Adobe XD?

Fluid navigation

Adobe XD offers efficient navigation between the different tables in the software. With Grid mode, this tool provides smooth navigation in UX prototypes. As a result, each user can directly access the work plan that interests him.

Easy handling

The Adobe XD tool offers a clean and intuitive user interface that makes it easy to learn the functionality of the software. This is what helps stimulate the user’s creativity and gives them innovative design ideas.

Importing and Exporting Files

Easy export in all possible resolutions and to other Adobe suite software.
Import of all kinds of files. For example, the designer can open an illustrator file or add Photoshop files to their XD space.
Simplify the work of UX Designers by accessing Creative Cloud libraries.

Final remarks

Adobe XD is a very comprehensive toolkit, developed by designers for designers. This tool turns static mockups and wireframes into interactive prototypes that provide a realistic overview of the intended functionality of the finished product (without programming). XD is subject to monthly updates to maintain continuous efficiency of its functionality.

This software is invading the field of GUI design, thanks to its ease of use and the fluidity it offers whether it is to interact with its screens or to collaborate with the team. Therefore, it is interesting to follow a training in the matter, in order to discover this software and to learn to control its services.

However, competition remains stiff between Adobe XD and its competitors: Sketch, Figma and Invision, whose usage varies according to the needs and type of user (independent designer, a team or a large company, etc.).