A small selection of tips to help you keep those large Sketch files in great shape.

In this article I hope to bring you a few valuable tips for when you’re building a Design System, or working with any large file in Sketch for that matter.

The tips compiled below I’ve used frequently myself, and I’m sure they’ll also help you in producing cleaner Sketch files, as well as improving your workflow considerably.

Let’s dive on in…

1. Rename, and organise those Layers often. Your sanity will thank you.

When you’re building your own System it really does pay to name your Layers as you go.

With an-all singing, all-dancing System, with its many Text Layers, Symbols and more… You’re guaranteed to end up with a ridiculous number of layers filling up your Layers List by the end. …

Small, and easy to put into practice tips to help improve your typographic knowledge.

Originally published at marcandrew.me on October 29th, 2020.

A good understanding of Typography (more than imagery, and colour in my opinion) is so important in the design of strong UIs.

Why?

Because the majority of what you see on the web is content-based, so having a better understanding of typography can enable you to keep the reader’s attention, bring them a much better user experience, and strengthen the meaning of the text that is being presented.

With this article, I wanted to show you a handful of tips that will not only give you a better understanding, but also feel more confident when working with type on your next project. …

More small and easy to put into practice tips to improve your designs.

Originally published at marcandrew.me on October 22nd, 2020.

Creating beautiful, but practical UIs takes time, with many design revisions along the way. I know. I’ve been there many times before myself.

But what I’ve discovered over the years is that by making some simple adjustments you can quickly improve the designs you’re trying to create.

In this follow up article (Here’s Parts 1, 2, and 3), I’ve once again put together a small, and easy to put into practice selection of tips that can, with little effort, help improve both your designs (UI), and the overall user experience (UX).

In this part I’ve focused primarily on Typography because I know how beneficial a good understanding of type can be when it comes to producing beautiful, practical designs. …

Colour Variables, Components View and more, make 69 one of the best versions yet. Let me share my thoughts…

The recent release of Sketch 69 has brought many new features aimed at improving your workflow considerably.

The new features, when combined with a large-scale Design System, will make your time creating design projects that much more enjoyable, constrictive, and faster.

Let me touch upon some of these new features and my own thoughts on them, now I’ve had chance to have a good play around…

Colour Variables

I wanted to share with you a few more plugins that have helped speed up my workflow in Figma.

Originally published at marcandrew.me on October 8th, 2020.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, there’s no denying that Figma is already a powerful, and versatile design tool out-of-the-box.

This is helped even more with the Plugin community behind Figma that continues to thrive, with many powerful, and invaluable plugins being added daily.

In this follow-up article I wanted to share a few more of the plugins that I use on a regular basis, and that have helped me not only improve the designs I create, but have also helped speed up my workflow considerably. …

I wanted to share with you some of the plugins that have helped speed up my workflow in Figma.

Originally published at marcandrew.me on September 24th, 2020.

There’s no denying that Figma is already a powerful, and versatile design tool out-of-the-box.

It continues to improve with each new release and has rightly claimed its place in the ‘Big 3 Design Tools Club’ (the others being Sketch & Adobe XD of course).

But, up until around a year ago, Figma was at a disadvantage against a tool such as Sketch.

Why?

Plugins.

Of course that’s no longer the case and the Plugin community for Figma is thriving, with more, and more powerful, and invaluable plugins being added daily.

In this article I wanted to share a few of the plugins that I use on a regular basis, and that have helped me not only improve the designs I create, but have also helped speed up my workflow considerably. And I’m sure they’ll do the same for you. …

The 8pt Grid is one of the most commonly used Layout Grid Systems there is, and for very good reason.

Originally published at marcandrew.me on September 3rd, 2020.

Layout Grids are everything in UI Design.

Well. Ok. Don’t discount Colour. Don’t forget about Typography. But get your Layout Grids right and you’re half-way there in creating much better looking, and functioning UIs.

Consistent, and scalable spacing helps you eliminate guesswork whilst designing and developing. It requires fewer design decisions. And it enables a much faster turnaround on projects.

The 8pt Grid is one of the most commonly used Layout Grid Systems there is, and for very good reason.

Let me tell you more about it in this article…

Ok. So what is a point (pt) exactly?

A point (pt) is a measurement of space that is dependent on screen resolution. The simplest explanation is that at a ‘1x’ resolution (or @1x) 1pt = 1px. …

Originally published at marcandrew.me on July 30th, 2020.

Ah good old White Space. One of the simplest things to add to your designs to improve both your UIs, and user experience. Let me share my (quick) thoughts with you on why you need to use it generously, and show it some love.

Allow the message of your site or app room to breathe.

It makes me weep into my pillow (with rounded corners of course) when I see UIs bursting at the seams with masses of information crammed into such a small area.

The message of your Website or Mobile App has no room to breathe, and this in turn has your user gasping for air as they try to digest the information that’s in front of them. …