In the realm of UX design, there are several software tools that have gained immense popularity and become the go-to choices for designers. Sketch, Figma, and Adobe XD often dominate conversations, leaving one to wonder: Why isn't Axure RP as widely embraced in the UX community? This question has intrigued me for quite some time, and in this video, we will explore some possible reasons behind Axure RP's relative lack of popularity in the field.
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To begin with, let's acknowledge that Axure RP does have a presence in the design community, but it tends to lag behind the more popular UI-focused software like Sketch. In a survey conducted by Uxtools.co in 2018, which included responses from 2775 designers worldwide, Axure RP ranked 10th among prototyping tools. What's even more surprising is that prototyping with code claimed the third spot on the list.
Digging deeper into the survey results, it becomes evident that Sketch enjoys overwhelming popularity. The company behind Sketch, Bohemian Coding, has done an impressive job of creating a sleek, fast, and well-supported product. One key factor contributing to Sketch's popularity is its strong emphasis on third-party plugins and support communities. This focus has fostered a vibrant ecosystem around the software, enabling designers to extend its capabilities and collaborate effectively.
When conversing with UX designer colleagues and attending meetups, I have noticed that the majority of them primarily use Sketch as their design software of choice, even when working on enterprise products. As someone who has been using Axure RP for over 10 years, this disparity perplexes me. While Sketch certainly excels in certain areas, particularly in mobile app design and detailed UI work, it often introduces unnecessary complexity when it comes to UX design and testing.
Axure RP 10, with its latest features, has undoubtedly delighted its loyal user base, including myself. The addition of symbol override functionality, developer inspect mode for generating redlines, CSS exporting, and documentation, as well as a Sketch plugin, demonstrates Axure's commitment to incorporating valuable features from other design tools. Furthermore, Axure RP boasts a range of powerful capabilities, such as the repeater feature, stackable dynamic panels, built-in flow-mapping tools, and top-notch interaction logic. These qualities position the software as a leader in UX design when the focus is on user experience rather than just the user interface.
However, it's essential to consider that my work primarily revolves around complex software, often in the enterprise domain. In these cases, the emphasis lies less on "cool" interactions and more on fulfilling flexible use cases. For instance, let's take a scenario where a user needs to consult a data table and use that information to model a financial transaction. In such situations, it becomes critical to test if the displayed data is correct, allow user inputs, and enable different pathways based on those inputs.
Axure RP excels in addressing this threefold challenge:
1. The ability to easily update data grids with fresh and realistic data sets: Axure allows for realistic data integration by consulting content specialists to define the required data in an Excel table. This data can be quickly formatted and updated within Axure's repeater functionality. Additionally, each data value can be stored as a variable, ready to be utilized later in the design.
2. Enabling free-form collection of user inputs: Axure simplifies the process of capturing user inputs and utilizing them to drive the prototype's behavior. The software's intuitive interface allows for dynamic input interactions with a few clicks, enabling the creation of fully functioning data-collecting forms within a short timeframe.
3. Providing flexibility for users to explore different options: Axure's modular approach empowers users to interact with any element on the page, rather than being limited to predefined paths. By utilizing dynamic panels and linked windows, designers can separate elements such as navigation, detail panes, and tabs, enabling modular interactivity. This flexibility allows users to explore various options and interactions based on their needs and preferences.
