UI Design Tools | Top 9 Essential User Interface Design Tools - The first knowledge sharing application in Vietnam

UI Design Tools

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Definition of UI Design Tools

The tools used for the User Interface (UI) design of a software application i.e. it is part of software engineering to help UI designers to develop display screen design, design of important features, prototyping or blueprint for the software application user interface. It provides a replica or model of software application view screen design, prototype, or exchange of application features with the developer and tracking the product design workflow.

What are the UI Design Tools?

There are multiple tools used for the user interface (UI) design of the software application. It helps the developer to develop a user interface based on the design procedure made by the designer. Depending upon the vector-based learning curve, sharing of workflow with a team, usage of components, ease to work, cost factors, and level of fidelity, we choose the user interface (UI) tools to design the UI for the software applications. Some tools are used for Wireframing (blueprint of the structural level design of user interface) and others are used for the UI design and prototype of the user interface design of software applications. But we discuss some important tools with advanced features. The examples of such tools are:

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Wireframing Based Tools

Adobe Comp (Mac OS, Windows)
Mockflow (Mac OS, Windows)
Balsamiq (Mac OS, Windows)
Axure (Mac OS, Windows, Linux, Web)

UI Design and Prototype Based Tools

Sketch (Mac OS)
Adobe Xd (Mac OS, Windows)
Figma (Mac OS, Windows, Linux, Web)
Invision Studio (Mac OS, Windows)
Framer X (Mac OS)
Flinto (Mac OS)
Marvel (Mac OS)
Origami Studio (Mac OS, Windows, Linux, Web)
UXPin (Web, macOS, Windows)
Principle (Mac OS)
Mockplus (Mac OS, Windows)

Top 9 UI Design Tools

Zeplin (Mac OS, Windows, Web)

1. Sketch

It is a Photoshop-like tool, which is mostly preferred by the designer to design a User Interface (UI) for the software application. It is used to design UI for mac Operating System (macOS) and provides the standard features like, art boards, symbols and mirroring effect, etc. It is a vector based drawing tool, allow editing and manipulating photos, changing in style, layout, and size, reusable of elements using copy & paste inside the application UI.

2. Invision

It is a web based prototyping tool mainly used for UI design and is used in mac Operating System (macOS). It provides advanced prototypes, workflow status, drag and drop design components, adding of static images, adding animation pictures and uploading files. It makes a workflow bridge between designer and developer to design a better, faster and real time user interface (UI). It is also known as InVision Studio.

3. Adobe Xd

It is also known as Adobe Experience Design. It is a vector-based designing and prototyping tool used for user interface design. It supports macOS as well as Windows Operating systems. Adobe Xd provides screen designing and reusing, prototyping, develop wireframes, view designs in real-time, importing files and also integrating some adobe based products/tools like, Photoshop.

4. Figma

It is first UI design tool that denoting design functionality, real-time collaboration, screen designing, real time mirroring of UI, prototyping, screen size change, gathering feedback, advanced animations, and reuse of design elements. It will support Web, macOS, Linux, Windows operating systems.

5. Flinto

It is an interactive prototyping tool is used for user interface design of software applications. It offers some advanced features like, micro interactions between design, screen switching transitions, adding of video files by dragging video files or other video files like, GIF files into our user interface design, adding of sound effects and scrolling page effect, etc. It will suitable mac Operating system only.

6. Balsamiq

It is the best Wireframing (Structural Level Design of Websites) tool, which makes link between designers, product owners, project managers, and developers. Here the different user interface elements are present in the UI library and as per our requirement; we choose the element and drag & drop it in wireframe. So this is the easy way to the designer to ready the prototype of UI. We can test it before handed over to developers for a usability test. It is suitable for macOS as well as Windows operating system.

7. Origami Studio

It is a user interface design tool used by Facebook having multiple features like adding different rules and logics to the interactions, dynamic animation, screen visibility criteria, real time view, etc. It supports all types of operating systems like mac OS, Windows, Linux, and Web.

8. Principle

When we design a multi screen application or new animations then this tool is best for the UI design. It supports mac OS with extra features like, screen connections, art board creation, alignment, real time preview of UI and mirroring of screen and it does not supports of collaboration of teamwork.

9. Zeplin

It is not a UI design and prototyping tool but, it is used in post design environment of the UI design prototype. It is a intermediate between the designer and developer to convert the UI into developed application i.e. if we add the designed user interface to Zeplin then it converts into developer environment to develop the project. It will support the mac OS, Windows, Web.

Conclusion

In the above article, we will discuss the different Wireframing, UI designing, Prototyping based user interface design tools. Depending upon the application we can choose the appropriate UI design tools by considering the design components, easiness, cost and fidelity of the tools, etc. The user interface (UI) design tools are most important to make developers develop an excellent UI for the software application.