Adobe XD is now a tool available within Adobe Illustrator! It used to be an independent software offering, but has now been absorbed by the Illustrator product. Moving on.. Here’s how it works. Adobe XD lets web and mobile app developers create UX and UI experiences. And the best part? They allow you to use it for free with the Adobe XD Free Trial.
A lot of us are familiar with Photoshop. Almost everyone has used Adobe Acrobat to open a .pdf file. Adobe XD is a program that is extremely powerful, even though it’s not as well-known as Adobe’s other programs in their creative suite.
That’s because Adobe XD is an app for web designers, developers of apps, and the front-end designers who collaborate with them.
Even if you aren’t a programmer, or a highly skilled web developer, XD is still useful. It allows users to arrange User Design elements, like text, animations, or photos, for webpages. You’ll also be able to design the User Interface with XD by bringing together typography, color schemes, and fonts. It contains the tools to ensure your website looks fantastic and user-friendly. XD is one of the best programs to create websites and app prototypes on the market.
Many designers previously used Photoshop to do this work, but those file sizes are large, and the program can be complex. If you wanted to make animations for webpages, that usually required another complex program like Adobe After Effects. Photoshop and After Effects have high learning curves, even though they are mighty.
Other competitors came onto the market to make it simpler to prototype websites and apps. Adobe XD answered the competition and now lets users create robust prototypes in XD without the requirement of learning multiple programs.
If you are thinking of creating a webpage, it helps make a prototype before you begin the arduous work of writing code. Or if you want to make a webpage but intend on hiring a web developer to do the programming, you still need to present your vision of the website so the programmer can create it.
XD gives you the tools to be very specific about what you want to see on your website before the time-consuming and costly programming work begins.
Also, XD lets you make a low fidelity version of your site as a prototype, used to visually layout the website or app. It won’t be a functioning website per-se, but rather a visual understanding of what your vision looks like. It’s a way to design all the user experience elements before the developer coding begins!
Think of XD as a high-tech sketch pad for designing websites and apps.
You can put placeholder text where you want it before it’s written. You’re also able to draw simple graphics and shapes and begin the important layout aspects of your website or app before you have the assets created.
This allows you to save a lot of time and money by making a prototype of a website or app before the programming starts, and that’s where XD shines for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Adobe offers a lot of programs on a 7-day free-to-try basis. XD is a little different.
The “Features” tab on this page for Adobe XD tells you more about the program. To begin your free version, just select “Start for Free.”
XD will begin to download only if you already have the Adobe Creative Cloud app on your computer, and you’re already signed in.
If you don’t have the Adobe Creative Cloud app, you’ll be prompted to download XD and asked to Create an Account or Sign In.
If you don’t have an Adobe Account already, you’ll be asked to create a username and input your email. Make certain you have access to that email to confirm your Adobe Account. They will send a confirmation link to your email. Open it and confirm.
If you have an account, you’ll still need to sign in unless you have an Adobe account already logged in on your computer.
For most of Adobe’s free trials, you will be asked to enter your credit card information. But, since XD for personal use is entirely free to use, Adobe won’t require that.
If you want to buy the complete version of XD, which allows you to share more than one prototype or design spec, then you would need to enter your billing info.
Adobe will ask you what your skill level is with Adobe XD just before finishing the download.
At that point, Creative Cloud will open and will find XD in the process of installing under Your Apps.
Adobe will send you an email welcoming you to XD and giving you the option of learning how to use the program through tutorials.
You can do a lot with the Adobe XD Free Trial. If you’ve never used a program to layout and design website and app prototypes, you may want to watch some tutorials.
Adobe has specific guided tutorials to help you learn Adobe XD. They provide you with all the assets you’ll need, such as text and photos, and have prepared extensive videos on how to use the program using those assets.
You can find the official Adobe tutorials on XD under “Learn” on the XD page.
Or there are vast amounts of free learning resources in Adobe XD itself. Just go to “Learn” on the left menu in XD.
If you selected the “For Personal Use” version (see below), then no stress on cancelling! It’s completely free… for now. Adobe has made the “Starter” program free to use since 2018. However, if you choose the version called “Single App” for professions and small teams, you’ll have 7-days before you’ll need to decide to cancel or not.
If you do decide to cancel, make sure to keep track of what day you’re on in the trial! Simply select “Manage account” underneath your name within the main creative suite panel. On the next page, you’ll see how many days are left on your trial. Select “View plan details.” From there, find and select “Cancel plan.”
If you haven’t by now, start your journey with the Adobe XD Free Trial today! It’s time to start working on your projects in a much-more professional way, and learn in the process.
____________________________________
We do lots of work and research to bring you free content, which we hope is valuable to you. We may receive a commission from links on our site. Thank you!