Adobe on Monday released a preview version of its new Experience Design CC (XD) app. First demonstrated as Project Comet at Adobe MAX in October 2015, the app offers a streamlined interface allowing users to easily create mockups of mobile apps and webpages.
The preview is currently available for download from the Adobe website. All you’ll need is an Adobe ID, and you’re good to go. XD offers a number of powerful tools to allow for quick prototyping of webpages, as well as mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. The app includes a number of built-in buttons, images, fonts and color palettes, all ready to use in an app or webpage layout.
All components can be used to drag and drop into a prototype. Components include a drag-and-drop auto-masking image box, auto-populating lists, an integrated vector graphics system, and includes support for Adobe Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC files.
“In our fast-moving, connected culture, poorly designed app or web experiences suffer a painful and short shelf-life,” said Paul Gubbay, vice president of Creative Cloud product management at Adobe. “Designers have been waiting for the right UX tool to simplify app and web experience design. From the beginning Adobe XD has been a constructive collaboration between our team and the design community and we look forward to the feedback from designers worldwide.”
The app also features a tool to simulate commonly used app and webpage transitions, such as interactive buttons and page slides, offering designers a more immersive experience. There is also a dedicated prototype mode, and a desktop preview mode that displays changes in realtime.
A preview of Adobe XD is now available for Mac users as a free download from the Adobe website. A shipping version is expected to be released later this year, along with companion apps for iOS and Android. Further integration with Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC is planned, as well as support for essential Creative Cloud features, such as CC Libraries and Adobe Stock.
