Figma has been beneficial for building auto layout screens when you need to switch out a component or move a page layout to reduce the design time and 'pixel perfection' you would typically see in other programs. Its prototyping tools are great for the basics to create high-fidelity screens for user research and stakeholder communications, but anything more complex is either buggy or incredibly development-oriented. Designers don't have the luxury of time to figure out how to code the 'if' and 'else' thinking, often having to opt for online demonstrations to hand off to developers. It's straightforward to grasp if you've used any other design software and is relatively lightweight in terms of the tools. A design system streamlines so much of the effort in our screens, even if you need to detach!
I can keep up with our UX/UI designer using iRise, and he's on a Mac and loves the Sketch, inVision software. I often trump him, by having all the direct customer feedback in place. This also works well with Pragmatic Marketing's approach to software. Requirements can be coded in line with Pragmatic's Strategy to Tactical framework. Love this software!
Recently my client has to have hovers as an enhancement to the current app. I used irise to show them how it would look in the future and they didn't like it. Finally because of the irise wireframe they decided not to have the hover - which was good before it was too late.
Client wanted a new interface to import Excel docs into the interface. I used irise to prototype the whole functionality.
Sometimes, I have to break components - if there was an easier way to customize on the spot without breaking them.
If I change the naming convention in the library, it would be nice to replace the old version. Because it will just remove the style altogether, I have to go back and apply it again.
When working on a complex page that has multiple sections with multiple views of each sections, it gets difficult to navigate to the section you want. It would be easier if there was a search functionality for searching the sections or components within the page.
Drag and drop controls to have more properties. e.g. for a button. It would be easier if the properties included BorderStyle, BorderWidth, Color, BackColor etc. Currently, these options are not available on the properties and we have to use the formatting tool bar.
Figma is a pretty cool tool in many areas. My team almost uses it on daily basis, such as, brainstorming on product/design topics, discussing prototypes created by designers. We even use it for retrospectives, which is super convenient and naturally keeps records of what the team discusses every month. Furthermore, I do see the potential of the product - currently we mainly use it for design topics, but it seems it is also a good fit for tech diagrams, which we probably will explore further in the future.
This platform solves the problem that enterprise software sales teams encounter, and iRise cuts to the chase. Sales people often say "do your magic thing with the prototype" and the customer gives immediate feedback, we change it on the fly
It's so simple to use! I have no background in UI design but basic designing and I was able to learn this software Figma within 3-5 days. There are tons of tutorials available on Youtube from so many popular YouTubers in the space, you can just go through them and start designing.
I haven't used their support lately but in the past, they had a chat that I used often. They often responded in a few hours and were able to give a satisfactory solution. I would imagine it's less personal now but the community has expanded drastically so there are more resources out there to self serve with a bit of Google magic.
In-person training has its own benefits - 1. It helps in resolving queries then and there during the training. 2. I find classroom or in-person training more interactive. 3. Classroom or in-person training could be more practical in nature where participants can have an hands on experience with tools and clarify their doubts with the trainer.
Online training has its own merits and demerits - 1. Sometimes we may face issues with connectivity or the training content 2. The way training is being delivered becomes very important because not everyone is comfortable taking online training and learning by themselves. 3. With the advancement of technology online training has become popular but there is a segment of people who still prefer class-room training over online one.
Figma blows these out the park. Adobe's system is very different, and I think this shows in their attempted acquisition of Figma. I've not used Sketch or Invision, but their lack of market presence says a lot—designers like using the best tools. Axure is definitely more comprehensive in prototype testing but very hard to adapt to use—the hotkeys aren't even the same!
We have used iRise instead of tools like Word, Excel, Visio, and other diagram tools found online. iRise is good because I think it captures the good parts of all these packages into one. I am able to easily create diagrams and mockups in one software package instead of cobbling together a bunch of other solutions.
Seamless integration of designs into Jira have helped double the level of accuracy during development. Interactive access to preview prototypes, flows and mockups has made a huge difference for us.
When components are updated in ways that changes the copy or architecture, it breaks all of its instances creating a massive source of anxiety for everyone on the team. The fact that we are uncertain whether our updates will retain text overrides forces us to triple check each time, decreasing our operational efficiency.
When high-fidelity prototypes are built to showcase new concepts, their ability to appear almost identical to our production site makes it much easier for stakeholders to get involved in decision making therefore allowing us to make more well rounded decisions.
