Adobe announced the September update to its Adobe Experience Design CC software today with support for real time design and prototype testing on iOS and Android devices. The update includes a a few other changes, but Adobe’s inclusion for real time previewing fills a large gap it was missing when compared to its competitors. Locking aspect ratios, zooming into selections, and a new transition are amongst the other new features announced today.
The inclusion of previewing a designer’s work on the actual device it will eventually land on is crucial to the workflow, so the update is a very welcome addition. Adobe’s companion app is now available as a free download in the App Store. Adobe’s companion app allows designers to not only preview designs, but prototype flows they may have created. Demian Borba walks through what this looks for designers working on different projects in the blog post’s included YouTube video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwNasnvCiag
Showing both an iPhone and Nexus 6P physically plugged into the computer, Borba demonstrates the real time experience the Adobe companion app brings. At this time a connected USB cable is needed, but Adobe says wireless support will be coming later.
The update today also brings enhancements that should help a designer’s overall experience. When resizing objects, aspect ratios can be locked to help maintain proper proportions. Users can now also zoom to a selection with the CMD + 3 shortcut. Art boards now also have the ability to include a “Scrolling” pane that allows that art board to vertical scroll or not. A good example of this is thinking of a blog where the header is stickied to the top, but the content below can continue to scroll.
Adobe Experience Design CC is currently in a preview period, and thus can be downloaded for free by anyone during this time. The new iOS Adobe Experience Design companion app can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
Image: Adobe
