Sketch vs Figma

I saw there is an option to use Figma to open the Sketch file for people who don’t have Sketch license or on a PC. So why don’t the design system move to Figma entirely? We have been using Figma for a while and we find it very useful especially when we trying to deploy a Design System into multiple projects and work collaboratively between Designers, Developers and Businesses.

Hey @simon.law2, the Digital Channels team is using Sketch but I have observed a lot of conversations, particularly amongst content designers, about the advantages of Figma.

Interested in your thoughts on comparative advantage of each system and in the experience of others who have worked with both. Something that has broader application does seem to make sense. #FewerBetterSystems

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Hi @jennifer.weiley, we have been using this for a while now and definitely can see the benefits. We were also switching from Sketch initially which we can share the pains and tips on how we transition. Happy to have a chat. Btw I will be at McKell today so can drop by and say hi.

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Hi @simon.law2 - sorry I missed you. Yes, it would be good to catch up. Let me know when you are next here and we’ll set up a time for a chat. Jennifer.Weiley@CustomerService.nsw.gov.au

Hey both - interested to hear your thoughts and any tips on importing the design file.

What have been the main things that need fixing when you bring it across into Figma to date?

(I’m no expert here myself, but found a few things misaligned on a previous release of the Sketch file).

Sorry for late reply. We are using Figma at Revenue NSW. We have our own design library for both new and existing (old applications). For the new system, we will use DDS as reference but with Revenue branding guide (approved by DCS marketing and branding teams) which is slightly different than what DDS provided. You might want to check with the DCS Marketing and Branding team, most is to do with the logo dimension size.

Yes Sketch file has some minor misaligned issue when converted to Figma but it is manageable.

If we noticed anything in future, we will ping you and your team :slight_smile:

Hi @simon.law2 and @linda - I’m happy to say that the nsw.gov.au team has also adopted Figma… and there’s absolutely no looking back! @JamesFehon - @piparmstrong can tell you all about the migration from Sketch… hours of fun!

nice! and welcome to the family :slight_smile:

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Hey all,

The official DS file is moving from Sketch to Figma, and our product designer Amy is working on it now. I’m writing a blog post to go with it, which will cover the many benefits, and some downfalls, of using Figma. Overall we’ve found Figma to be an improvement on Sketch for digital design, but it is still graphics software - think ‘shapes on a canvas’ vs structured DOM.

The goal of the design system over the next few months is to give UXers more and more ready-to-go, use-case based, UI components (complete with guidance, code, figma components and with a11y built in) - this means UXers can spend less time working on how things look, and more time working out how to get users to their goals successfully.

Amy will chime in, but we’d love to get the figma library out to the community if you’re all interested in testing?

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Hi @simon.law2 @jennifer.weiley @linda, Thanks for your insights into using Figma! As TJ mentioned and you may have heard in our Showcase we are moving to Figma which is very exciting. A shout out again to Adham and the nsw.gov.au who have been a massive help!
We are looking to release our first Figma DDS file in December this year. We hope to make it available to our DDS Community for a Beta Release mid November and would love your help to test out collaborating with the new Library. If you would be interested please let me know as it would be great to get feedback from users already experienced in Figma.

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Hi @amy.howard - so far I have been a viewer of Figma files but am interested in how the content team can participate more in collaboration - no more lorem ipsum?

We have also been using Miro for workshops to kind of mimic whiteboard and post-it notes so I’m interested in whether Figma has any of this capability. #FewerBetterSystems

Looking forward to learning and contributing more to this initiative.

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Hi Jennifer, we’re hoping the simplicity of Figma as a tool will help content designers collaborate better with UI designers and developers. The goal is to make wireframing available to content designers as a communication tool when working with content strategists, interaction designers, developers, etc.

I’d be interested to hear what gap Miro is filling that Figma doesn’t - whether that would be solved by more distributed wire-framing ability, or if it’s actually about feedback management within the platform.

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We are currently just start to trailing out the Abstract Enterprise Figma Beta version. Happy to share our learnings and experiences afterward.

The Abstract Enterprise will release the Figma version in next year. It is a good collaboration and workflow process tool for all the roles within the project.

In Figma, you can also download some chat plugins to communicate and collaborate with other team members.

sounds great! Please keep me in the loop and we can also share how we use Figma Design System to streamline works between designers & developers.

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Hi @rika.johnander, @paulc, (@paul?) - trying to tag Paul Casey :slight_smile:
Do you have any thoughts on the use of Miro versus Figma in response to @tjharrop’s comment?

Hi all,
We use Miro for research walls, workshops, journey maps etc.

I think we still need to figure out how content creators and ux can work together efficiently in Figma. It would be interesting to trial it in the consolidation projects we have in the pipeline.

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Hi @jennifer.weiley,
Yup, we’re looking at better ways for content people to collaborate with designers in Figma. Lorem ipsum is a massive pet peeve of mine.

We should catch up to discuss!

Thanks,
Paul