Figma vs Adobe XD: Let me be the judge of that!
Published on: 17 June, 2022
I moved to Berlin exactly two weeks ago today. Luckily, I had the opportunity to meet many people within just a few days—thanks to renting a room in a co-living house. The flat mates have been extremely helpful with this scary yet exciting transition. They have been a great source for meeting new people as well.
The topic of “What software do you use?” is a hot one here. Almost everyone has been curious to know the answer to this question since I arrived. Software engineers; project managers; and even a nurse (almost). To their surprise, the answer is never what they expected or hoped to hear. Not only that, but I also hear arguments that “X” is better than “Y”, because … well... you can fill in the blank.
A little over a year ago, I had the privilege of acquiring a new client (he was referred to me by my former boss) and we worked together on a two-month project. On our first call, we introduced ourselves and discussed the details of the project. I learned that their designers use software “X” to design and prototype. Naturally, he asked me the same question. I told him my preference and briefly explained why. To which he responded, “I would never dare demand anyone—let alone a designer— use a tool of my choosing because it may be more convenient for my developers.” He made a relevant analogy, which I use to clarify what I mean by “I do my best work in ‘Y’ software”. He said and I paraphrase, “Demanding a designer to work in ‘X‘ software is like demanding a professional chef to use a knife of my choosing."
The moral of the story isn’t that one software is better than the other (Ok... Yes, it is.). There are subjective and objective reasons why people choose something over the other. Therefore, I should be the one who gets to decide what tool to use to deliver my best work... if, of course, that is the reason you have decided to hire me.
