In this article you will learn about the future of the popular UI/UX design software Adobe XD and what to do if you plan on switching from it to another software.
What is Adobe XD?
Adobe XD was launched by Adobe on March 2016 and it is widely used as a UI/UX designing and prototyping software. It started as a free tool, but later became a paid subscription.
Adobe XD was always my first choice when it comes to UI/UX design. It’s the first program that I used specifically for this purpose (except the “good” old Photoshop ages before 2016… if you know, you know!).
There are multiple tools you could use instead of Adobe XD (e.g. Figma and Sketch), but its easy and intuitive interface made for a simple yet effective software that could do almost anything you wanted.
I actually used Adobe XD for way more than UI/UX design (social media posts, e-mail templates, our social media banners and profile pictures… basically anything that was not going to be printed on paper!) and during the years it continued to improve with all its updates and an ever-growing directory of useful plug-ins.
So, what about the future of Adobe XD?
Unfortunately, Adobe XD’s era is about to come to an end.
It all started back in September 2022 when Adobe announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Figma for about $20 billion in cash and stock, which ultimately led to the official acquisition.
As of June 2023, Adobe XD was actually removed from Adobe 's storefront for purchase as a single software, with updates being stopped as of late 2022 without any official notice from Adobe.
The company later stated:
"Adobe XD is no longer available for purchase as a single application but will continue to be supported for existing users*. XD will continue to be available as part of our Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps subscription.”*
What does this mean for all Adobe XD users like me? Are we doomed? Well, no, of course.
Existing users support
As mentioned above, Adobe will continue to support Adobe XD for existing users, which mean that if you have an active license, as long as you don’t change device/format your current device you will be able to use the software just as you did before. Keep in mind that you won’t have any new features added and that you won’t be able to repurchase it as a single software in case you change device.
So, is it really worth it to avoid making the switch to other tools?
Making the switch
Well, here’s the kicker. I already started switching to Figma for all my UI/UX design processes, and will continue to use Adobe XD only to open old projects.
I plan to make the full switch from Adobe XD to Figma before the start of the new year.
Of course, this didn’t come without friction. The two tools are just different enough to drive you crazy in the beginning (you think you knew all the keyboard shortcuts? Think again, most of them are different).
Also, Figma doesn’t open XD files, that’s why I am in the process of translating all my files over to Figma.
Converting your files from Adobe XD to Figma
This would mean remaking most of my projects from scratch, but fear not: I have a trick for you… I actually found a super cool plug-in to convert your XD files over to Figma!
The plug-in I’m talking about is Convertify from Hypermatic.
It is a paid plug-in but 10 free trials of Convertify Pro are included with the free version, and if you're a casual user, you can continue using the free version of Convertify forever.
I tried it to convert some ongoing projects that I started in Adobe XD but for which I will need to make edits and add new features in the future. The plug-in seamlessly transported all of my layers, text areas and components (the components part is still a bit iffy because of how Figma manages components, and of course you will lose any prototyping you did… but it’s still a great start!).
Some margins and the position of some items were changed in the process, but all in all it’s better than starting over from scratch!
I plan on deactivating my Adobe XD membership once I’m done with moving all my files over to Figma, and this plug-in sure does help A LOT.
Conclusion
To sum up, I would say it’s not worth it to stay tied to a software that won’t evolve with the future trends in web design and UI/UX design.
If I were you, I would start to weigh my options and to learn another tool that, despite the initial effort, will probably be the new standard for years to come.
So, were you an Adobe XD user? Did you already switch to another tool? And, if yes, what is it?
Let us know in by commenting on our social media posts about this topic and let’s spark the conversation!
Bye for now,
Milly from the Dartmoon team