

Adobe XD, which came out last year, offers dual design-prototyping functionality for creating simple apps. But Framer is the first to move beyond just translating graphics into code or simple prototyping in a significant way. It uses simple JavaScript to express interactivity and animation. Co.Design wrote about Figma’s quest to become the “Github for designers” in 2015, for instance. For example, users would use vector-based programs Sketch or Figma to design the interface, then import those files into Framer to add in interactive elements.įramer is not the first tool to consolidate the designer tool kit. While the first version offered swift ways to drop in code and create animation and interactivity, you couldn’t use it alone. The big difference with the new version of Framer is that it’s meant to be an end-to-end design tool, in which teams can develop, design, and prototype their ideas without having to integrate other tools or input files created in other programs. This time, minimal knowledge of code is required. Last week, the company released a more robust and more accessible iteration of Framer. The first iteration of Framer came out in 2015, and today is used by design teams at tech giants like Uber, Google, Facebook, and Dropbox, among others. Which is why, shortly after leaving Facebook, Bok and van Dijk cofounded Framer, a startup that creates tools that make it easy for any designer or design team to build out working prototypes of their ideas for apps, features, and interfaces. “I predict that within one or two years it’s going to be really hard to get a job as a product designer at one of these companies without being able to do actual interactive design,” says Bok.

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And as the focus of the design world continues to shift toward tech skills, it’s becoming even more necessary for designers to learn how to prototype-and how to code.

Today, almost all big tech companies require their product designers to build working prototypes of their ideas first, to more accurately convey them to executives.
