Atomic streamlines integration for Sketch users

Launched this week, Atomic’s new plugin for Sketch is a free addition that streamlines artwork transfer between the two for a much accelerated workflow.

Atomic is one of the most popular examples of the new breed of design app, focused not on how design looks, but on how design behaves. Launched last Summer it’s a favored tool of many designers who shun the omnipresence of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, and aren’t convinced by the traditional approach Serif’s Affinity suite; if you’re using Sketch for UI design, you’re probably using Atomic for prototyping.

The philosophical connection between the two apps has been there from the start, but until now—because they’re made by different software companies—the best way to get artwork out of Sketch and into Atomic was by copy and paste. Hardly a slick process.

Atomic’s new Sketch plugin links the apps like never before. Design your layouts in Sketch, then bring your prototypes into Atomic via the new export options. When exporting you have the option of transferring a single flattened image, a series of flattened artboards, or a series of layered artboards.

Sketch Plugin for Atomic from Atomic on Vimeo.

Having produced your design elements in Sketch, creating a prototype in Atomic is simple. It doesn’t produce production code, it’s not a WYSIWYG. Atomic is similar to Adobe’s Experience Design application, it’s focused on creative interaction design.

Toolsets need to complement each other, and it’s through finding ways to work together, that individual apps like Sketch and Atomic can challenge the Adobe dominance of the market. As we’ve seen with the flood of updates from Adobe in the last few years, competition breeds innovation; anything new to the market benefits all users, regardless of their tool of choice.

Atomic’s new plugin doesn’t deliver anything radically new, it simply removes one of the pain-points designers experience in their workflow, and allows them to focus on the creative side of their job. If you’re using Sketch with Atomic, it’s worth trying out.

The Atomic Sketch Plugin is free to download. Atomic starts with a 30 day free trial, after which prices begin at $15/month/user.

Ben Moss

Ben Moss has designed and coded work for award-winning startups, and global names including IBM, UBS, and the FBI. When he’s not in front of a screen he’s probably out trail-running.