A design system comes with many benefits for organizations. It offers consistency, an improved workflow, and collaboration between teams from all over the world. Some of the top design systems can even inspire other brands to be more intentional with their work and create a better user experience.

Why share a design system?

With so many proprietary assets currently protected by brands, you may wonder why some have chosen to share their system widely with the world. Being open with things like font, color choice, and word style can benefit brands by offering:

Accountability. Sharing a design system shows a dedication to accessibility or sustainability in tangible ways. It replaces lip service with action.

Attention. A great design system is bound to be shared again and again, giving the brand that creates it the best form of press. The creator of these best practices gets credit, even in competitive industries where it can be difficult to stand out.

Attraction. A brand looking to hire the best and brightest designers or developers can use its design system to show off the work that's being done – and possibly even attract future employees. The design system shows the values of the company in a way that an About Me page just can’t; would-be employees can see the proof of the culture before joining.

Trust. Sharing internal information like a design system or being open-source helps foster trust with the wider community. You show users that you have nothing to hide and that they can trust your brand to act with integrity. 

Top design system examples

What makes a design system the best? It’s not an individual asset like a font or color. While these elements do matter, it’s how these elements get tied together into a cohesive plan and packaged up for use that makes the following design systems stand out.

1.      Shopify

Shopify’s open-source design system is named Polaris. It offers many reusable elements that a modern e-commerce business would need to create an engaging customer experience. Because stores that use the Shopify platform can be any size, in any industry, with any number of goals, components are made to be extremely flexible and easy to use.

The design system also provides many accessible resources, especially for those who may not be well-versed in design systems or even the creation of a store site. While it’s made for developers, it’s written in a way that anyone can understand. The clean, minimalist interface helps users focus on what matters so they can build quickly.

Extremely versatile and clearly written, the design system shines with its links to user resources and tutorials. Even if it’s the first time creating a Shopify app, developers can get up to speed quickly with the provided tools.

What you can learn

Design elements don't mean much if developers don't know how to use them. Shopify ensures its best practices happen with even less experienced developers by giving them plenty of step-by-step tutorials. 

They also use smart naming conventions to ensure there is little room for confusion. For instance, Shopify’s tokens all follow the same naming pattern: type, concept, element, role, prominence, and state. This means that their color tokens are easily understandable and can continue to grow without turning their design system into a mess.

When creating your own design system, consider how you’ll make it easily adaptable. By creating conventions and resources early, you can be far more certain that your design system will be used consistently and in the way you intended. 

2.      Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs aims to be the gold standard of design systems. Impressive elements include its custom typeface, named "Goldman Sans," which aims to make even the tiniest printed materials easy to read and understand. It reduces confusion between similar letters, like "5" and "S," while also ensuring that numbered columns in financial documents line up correctly.

This font is just one feature of the design system, but the way the company calls it out and explains it is especially notable. Because the brand incorporates so much educational and background material into the design system, users can come away with not just "what" to do but also "why" it's done. 

For instance, in their section on data visualization, Goldman Sachs explains how they use color to create a smarter way of presenting data to their users. In this case, they incorporate more or less intense shades of color to create a graph that people can understand at a glance.

Even the choosing and testing of the color system is documented so users can see how the company adopted the final tones and hues. This origin story not only makes for entertaining reading but also emphasizes the care and consideration that went into making the design system one to beat.

What you can learn

The backstory of a design system matters as much as the elements. People who understand creative motivation are more likely to put it into practice in an appropriate manner. Share how you came to your values and why they are important.

3.      Samsung

Samsung’s design system for smartwatch app developers offers several detailed resources for creating the best user interface. This is especially useful because designing for a smartwatch is very different than designing for a smartphone. The recommendations in the design system call out the challenges and opportunities developers have to engage users. They then share how to serve these customers as they work and play in various user settings.

For example, the timely info tab shares how to give users info within seconds. The bezel control tab shares best practices for designing within the bezel and deciding what functions it should provide. Each tab wraps up with questions to help the design team troubleshoot, such as “Turning the bezel clockwise increases values, and turning it counterclockwise decreases values. Does your app align with these basic interaction principles?”

What you can learn

Samsung anticipates the learning curve that developers have when pivoting to a wearables environment. It also creates educational content with several checkpoints to test user understanding. The best design system acknowledges the likely missteps of implementing new technology and guides teams through fixing them early in the process.  

4.      Liferay Lexicon

The Liferay Lexicon design system is a language framework for creating within the Liferay ecosystem. It provides patterns, components, language recommendations, satellites, and models to build from. Like most design systems, it focuses on simplification and consistency but also features a robust educational aspect.

The actual design system documentation is minimalist, with little to no illustrations. However, it does use graphics to demonstrate best practices. In the Writing tab, you’ll find Liferay’s approach to language and style, which is emphasized through “Do” and “Don’t”  illustrations.

This approach ensures designers and developers are creating with similar styles, even if it’s been a while since they used the phrases “sentence case” or “ordinal rules.”

What you can learn

People are highly visual but can get overwhelmed by too many graphics. Liferay takes a direct approach to educating users by using images only when it matters, such as in screenshots of actual elements. By limiting the unnecessary items in your design system documentation, you can ensure the important things get communicated.

5.      Carbon

IBM’s open-source design system, "Carbon," is highly respected and based on the IBM Design Language, and it’s one of our favorites. In addition to having a complete library of patterns and functions, it also has an incredibly comprehensive section on accessibility guidelines.

IBM’s design system encourages inclusiveness in two ways. First, IBM focuses a lot of attention on educating developers and designers on the kinds of accessibility challenges they're trying to overcome. 

For instance, they show an example of blurred or tunnel vision so designers can better understand this challenge.

It’s one thing to explain you’re trying to create a design that is accessible to those with visual impairments, but it’s a whole other thing to understand what that means.

Secondly, IBM shares specific best practices that can make a product more accessible. For example, they explain how data tables can be designed to be more accessible by using specific elements and attributes to make them readable for those using screen readers.

What we like about this is that it’s incredibly specific. Where some design systems might just say make sure data tables can be read by screen readers, Carbon provides specific recommendations on how to get that done.

What you can learn

Creating a more inclusive online experience is something that every website and product should aspire to. IBM shows that if you want to ensure that everyone can use your product, you need to start that process with your design system.

And when you do, don’t just state your intent. Educate your team on the accessibility challenges different people face and teach them proven best practices that can make a noticeable difference for millions of people worldwide.

Creating a design system that inspires others

At the heart of every design choice, is an attempt to put users first. The goal is always to make the product more helpful, more accessible, or just more fun for them.

By creating and publishing your design system online, you are doing just that. You are creating a document that has the potential to inspire others, build trust, and even create a strong connection to your brand. 

Before putting your design system on display, ensure it’s in top shape by getting feedback from both internal users and external partners. Many of the design systems we’ve featured welcome suggestions, either from external GitHub communities or through their own communication channels.

Ready to start your design system? Penpot’s free design app makes it easy to begin. You can manage components from your design systems to help you create your best work.

CSS grid layouts aren't new, but they're still incredibly powerful and allow you to do some truly amazing things with your web design. It's perfect for designers who want to form better working partnerships with the developers since it’s made for both professional roles to use and adapt easily.

CSS Grid takes the grid layout to the next level. Not only can designers break up their pages into smaller sections, but they can customize each element's size so it fits exactly where they want it. Now, designers can position items relative to one another without wasting time designing the spaces between each one. 

Penpot’s Grid Layout feature embraces the possibilities that CSS grid systems provide. This ground-breaking approach to design makes it easy to align and distribute items inside a container with just the right amount of control.

1. Improves efficiency

If you’ve never used a CSS grid layout, it can seem very different compared to other tools. However, the learning curve is worth it.

First, you have the flexibility to create things just the way you want without needing help from other departments. You can adjust the position of an item within the grid, for example, knowing it will be in the exact same place in the final product. You don't have to ask developers to manually change the HTML markup with every new thing you try.

From a developer standpoint, CSS grid users enjoy the use of the “fr unit" and the repeat () function, which act like shortcuts to reduce the overall code needed to perform frequent tasks. This saves many hours of time and a lot of unnecessary frustration when making multiple websites with similar elements. It’s simple enough for some designers to master, too.

2. Encourages experimentation

Traditional HTML design systems don’t always provide the best ROI for the work involved. They actually discourage teams from trying new things and thinking big — especially in the final stages of development when you pretty much have everything set. A CSS grid layout allows you to make changes without a large commitment of resources, allowing you to experiment whenever you want to test something new.

Have you ever wondered what a site could look like with only a few changes? Have you then gone on to ignore that thought because it was just too much work to have the developers change the HTML?

If you do get the brilliant thought of moving UI elements a bit to the left or changing the entire order of a stacked design, what can you do? With CSS grid layout, you can simply move things around to look their best without creating extra work for already stressed teams. For creatives who want their site to look just right, CSS grid layouts will help you cross that finish line.

3. Enhances responsiveness

With an ever-increasing number of operating systems, browsers, and devices, getting the perfect look for all users can be a challenge. What’s wonderful on a 12” tablet screen may look ridiculous on a desktop layout.

CSS grid layouts take some of that uncertainty away, offering a better look at your final creation. Penpot’s design layouts feature, for example, offers over 30 different screen size presets, so you can ensure your design works on everything from an Apple watch to a Google phone. 

CSS grid layout isn’t just responsive for the screen. It’s also responsive for each element.

When creating an element that’s just a bit too big for its cell, the cell will automatically resize to accommodate. There’s no need to go into the code and manually adjust up and down until everything fits. Designers can create elements without fear that adding another word or two will throw the entire webpage out of alignment.

4. Brings designers and developers together

The design and development teams must work closely to produce the perfect product. Making communication between the two departments as easy as possible helps develop that much-needed rapport. When the two departments are in sync, things are less likely to be misunderstood and easier to fix if they are. 

When everyone understands each other, the final product turns out exactly like what everyone envisions, not just what one team does. There's one thing that can always be improved: the workflow between design teams and development teams. 

That's where the CSS grid layout comes in. Not only is it intuitive enough for designers to work in directly — even with little to no code experience — but it also reduces unnecessary development iterations. Designers can create with no limits and require less of the development teams.

It’s even more beneficial for teams that work within a design system. With pre-approved colors, fonts, and logos (and their accompanying code snippets), CSS grid designs have a better chance of passing through the prototype stage easily. Everyone can do their best work with confidence in a faithful final translation into code.

Penpot’s comments and history tools help you see who did what and when. You can skip emails and Slack threads and communicate directly in Penpot’s tools instead.

5. Creates less work for developers

Penpot’s CSS Grid Layout offers a better way of working since it results in less overall code and smaller files. It creates some of the same results through a cleaner, more simplified HTML markup. While this may not seem like a big deal for a designer, it’s a consideration to take into account for those who deal in technical details (like developers). For developer teams with a goal to reduce code bloat, this can be a game changer.

Also, CSS grid layout is supported by all major browsers. So, if you create something in the layout specifically for Firefox, it will appear exactly the same in Edge. 

What about sites whose audience prefers more experimental browser types? CSS grid layout has wide support from the coding and debugging community, making it the ideal choice. If a bug pops up from a relatively unknown browser, the developers can quickly find a solution within the community and implement it immediately. This allows designers to create with confidence, knowing their projects will render correctly on every device. 

When to use CSS Grid

The CSS grid layout works well in almost any project. Its emphasis on open communication makes it ideal for cross-collaborative teams where design and development work hand-in-hand.

The technology is incredibly useful in initial design, wireframing, and prototyping. Using a feature like Penpot’s CSS Grid Layout right from the start means you won't need to first create your sketch, then copy the good parts over to the prototype, and finally drop the final version into a CSS tool. Instead, you can do it all in Penpot, so your best work can be site-ready with fewer steps.

What if you don't need a CSS tool right away? Grid Layout works even in bits and pieces. You don’t have to use the CSS Grid Layout for every piece of your project. You can still use other Penpot features to enable collaboration, live previews, and comment histories.

Use it for what you feel comfortable with, even if this means enhancing an old design by overwriting with newer CSS grid elements.

Designers and developers creating any type of project with blocks, columns, and rows are best served by this new way of working. It eliminates so many of the manual code adjustments that legacy HTML systems relied on and comes with handy nesting features to keep site designs better organized.

For best results, use Grid Layout in adherence to a style guide or design system and avoid even more back-and-forth between teams.

Your next steps for CSS Grid Layout success

You may be wondering how to jump right in. With Penpot’s CSS Grid Layout functionality, it’s a pretty simple process. Even if you’re not familiar with code, you can begin creating designs that your developer teams can collaborate on and help take to the next level. 

Which of your web projects could benefit from Penpot’s CSS Grid Layout? Sign up for a free account and begin your next design today. 

What makes one website or app more successful than another? While product offerings and customer service certainly play a part, your UI design is your users/customers’ first impressions of your organizations. Users have become increasingly aware of how they engage with a site or app, and each click can bring them satisfaction or frustration.

How are you approaching UI design in your user experience? These examples of UI design applications may inspire you to improve your user interface for everyone.

1. Martie - online grocery shopping

Martie 2 is an online grocery outlet that uses whimsical fonts and illustrations to highlight its low-cost pantry items, household goods, and more. Customers can see the deep discount on each item at a glance and add it to their cart without ever visiting the product detail page.

Site visitors who mouse over “Add to Cart” are rewarded with an animated button that appears to be clicked — a small but fulfilling detail. Once added to the cart, the “Elsewhere price” (competitor price) changes to a satisfying “You’re saving $XX.XX” message to remind shoppers how much they save with each click.

What you can learn from it

Martie knows its shoppers are price-conscious and seek out the site to save big. Its UI design not only feels fun, but it also helps shoppers see their savings as they fill their carts.

You should use the same principle when designing your UI. Let your customers’ wants inform your design so they see the value in your product or service right away. If you design with them in mind, you’ll be more likely to build a UI that works best for them in their quest to stretch their budget.

2. Lemonade - insurance platform

Insurance platform Lemonade stands out with its use of white space, ink-style illustrations, and signature pink accents. Since it handles insurance differently than the big brands, it needed a way to explain how it works in terms understood by everyone. Its simple yet effective illustrations do just that.

Lemonade’s visual experience is consistent across the desktop and mobile formats, making the most of available screen space with graphics that fit size parameters well.

What you can learn from it

Lemonade knows that shoppers want to better understand the products and services they buy, including how their money is being used. With a transparent buying process and useful illustrations, companies can assure customers that they are a good match for the shoppers’ hard-earned cash.

Follow this example by being upfront with your mission and vision for your brand, including it in explainers or illustrations that break down what makes your business unique. Even complicated concepts become approachable in this manner, especially when your illustrated object lessons contain items everyone understands — like pizza!

3. Peacock - streaming service

The UI between many of the top streaming services is pretty similar, but Peacock’s interface feels bold, fresh, and visually enticing.

The Kid’s profile UI is especially easy to navigate: when a title is hovered over on the home page, a small window appears showing additional information, including the latest Rotten Tomatoes rating. Upon clicking the title, more information is revealed, including the IMDB rating. This gives parents more insights into the movies and shows most likely to delight younger audiences.

What you can learn from it

There’s so much competition for streaming media today. Peacock’s thoughtful additions of IMDB and Rotten Tomato’s ratings help sort through the clutter. They’re also well-known to most consumers, more so than the limited internal streaming platform rating systems used by competitors. Empowering users to make better decisions is always a good design choice.

You can also harness the power of these UI design decisions on your own site by embedding content from authoritative sources. Choose an element with social proof (like the IMDB reviews above) to help users benefit from the “wisdom of the crowds.” People enjoy being part of something bigger than themselves; your UI design can do just that.

It’s important to note that depending on your design team, this may not be an optimization implemented solely by UI designers. Adding social proof can often straddle the responsibilities of UX and UI, making it important that these two closely related teams are in constant communication throughout the design process.

4. Zenni - eye wear retailer

Affordable eye wear retailer Zenni has been using innovative “try-on” services to help bring additional value to its UI design. With this feature, users upload a photo of themselves as the backdrop for various frames and try them on, much like using social media filters.

Now, the store has added AI-based image search to help users find their favorite looks. How does it work? Shoppers simply click the “Visual Search” icon to bring up the tool, then upload a photo featuring their ideal pair of frames. Using reverse image tech, Zenni matches the glasses to similar products in its inventory and offers these as suggested matches for the user based on size, shape, color, and style.

What you can learn from it

It’s common for shoppers not to be able to describe the products they want. With glasses, which don’t have notable product names, it’s more a matter of “I know it when I see it.” By incorporating a tool like Zenni’s Visual Search to scan images, you can help buyers find items that look like the things they already love.

If something this technical isn’t a possibility, a lookbook with top styles from social media, the news, and celebrity styles may fit the bill. Shoppers who want to “get the look” won’t have to try hard to replicate the items owned by their favorite trendsetters.

5. Exploding Kittens - board game

The popular board game Exploding Kittens uses its website to introduce new players to its product line and give loyal players updates on what’s new.

With its signature big-eyed kitten illustrations and comical language, the brand stays consistent while educating buyers on what it’s all about. During its Christmas campaign, the “Start Here” product feature helped shoppers find the right product for themselves or a loved one.

What you can learn from it

Decision fatigue is a real issue for users, who are estimated to make over 35,000 decisions a day. Exploding Kittens helps them narrow down the options and find the right product for their needs — all while using humor and wit to make it incredibly fun.

You can follow this example by narrowing down your products into categories that solve an identifiable need, whether it’s based on price, purpose, or occasion. A UI design that calls out common problems and then addresses them directly is one that site visitors will appreciate and return to for their next problem, too.

6. Duolingo - language learning app

The language learning app Duolingo has undergone quite a few design changes over the years. Its service works just as well for desktop users as mobile users, something that’s not always the case for interactive learning platforms. With an intuitive UI, it helps learners move along their learning paths seamlessly, so they almost don’t realize how fast they are learning.

One notably useful UI design feature is the learning path visual, which lets users see how far they’ve come. By switching to a Guidebook view, learners can see all of the phrases and concepts they’ve mastered to help them tie the gamification into real-world language skills.

What you can learn from it

Showing past progress, providing a clear path for what’s ahead, and demonstrating real-world relevance all matter to users and should have a place in any good UI design theme.

If your app or site monitors user progress, give users access to these insights with a well-designed map or other visual element. Make it easy for them to see — at a glance — just how far they’ve come and how you’ve played a role in their accomplishments.

How to create UI design features that matter to users

Creating the best app or website experience requires thousands of conscious choices. Most of the best apps, however, started with just a simple mockup and a clear mission on what to accomplish. These world-class design examples likewise started out modestly, with wireframing and prototyping to reflect what each user would need to do to get the best experience.

Penpot’s design tool helps designers break down the most complex app ideas into manageable chunks. Start with the basics and add thoughtful extras over time. Share with stakeholders and beta testers to get an idea of how they engage. Make changes before launch or even revisit design choices later as you get a better feel for your user audience.

Our tool is completely open-source and always free, making it easy to customize to fit your needs. Start working with our full library of UI design templates and you’ll be well on your way to creating a world-class design of your own.

Proven design concepts can help your brand message stand out in an accessible way to more people in more places.

This is especially true on social media, where you have just seconds to capture the attention of people scrolling past your post. Are you making graphics for a LinkedIn post or crafting the perfect Instagram Story? Taking the time to implement proper UX principles can be just what you need to break through the noise.

Use these design hacks to educate your followers on what you have to offer.

1. Master size, shape, and color scheme

Before you start experimenting with trending hashtags or the latest TikTok challenge, get the basics down first.

Size and shape: Each social media platform has its own size guidelines, and these do change often. Instagram 1, Facebook, TikTok, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn 1 all share their rules for making sure a post can be viewed in its entirety.

If you ignore the size parameters, your visuals can become blurry or even get cut off so that followers only see part of your message. Design each original visual asset so that it matches the size rather than trying to stretch or manipulate it after the fact; skewing photos, for example, can cause pixelation and poor display quality.

Color: Before you commit to a color palette based on your brand kit alone, consider the colors used on each social media platform.

Will your visuals stand out? Clash? Disappear into the background? While color palettes change, finding a scheme that catches the eye in each feed can be a powerful tool for capturing a user’s limited attention.

Pro tip: Test your color scheme in both the standard view and “dark mode” offered on mobile devices and desktop browsers. You may find a color palette that stands out on both and still holds true to your brand aesthetic.

2. Optimize visual hierarchy

When elements are organized in a way that prioritizes information, a visual hierarchy is followed. This includes color, size, contrast, and placement to help the viewer know what to look at first and which part of the design is most important. Eye-movement patterns, normally from top to bottom, are considered in the visual hierarchy.

There may be a different hierarchy between social channels. What do you want a user to see first on Twitter versus an Instagram Reel? How you answer may determine what you prioritize in the design and where it’s placed in relation to other elements.

By paying close attention to visual hierarchy, you accomplish two things: you make it easier for viewers to get the right information at a glance, and you encourage engagement in a very competitive landscape.

Pro tip: Start by creating the most important element first, then build around it to ensure you focus on the correct things. This element is typically the CTA but may also be the special ingredient in a sandwich, the subject of a recent article, or the main idea of a longer announcement.

3. Practice minimalism

On social media, less is more. Consider leaving out any text or design element that doesn’t directly add to the conversation. Because there is limited space for both visuals and text, you’ll need to work extra hard to get your point across.

Focus on just one CTA or ask for each message so users don’t experience decision fatigue. Ask yourself, "What do I want them to do or know after seeing this?” If your design goes beyond what’s needed for that to happen, remove the extras.

Another bonus to the minimalist approach is that it works on screens of all sizes. While a busy and detailed graphic may work on a 17" laptop screen, it may be difficult to make out on a small Android mobile device. A less busy design ensures no one is left out.

Pro tip: Minimalism doesn’t always equal “white space.” In fact, some social channels have so much white space that it could drown your use of blank areas. Feel free to include bold colors and contrast; just don’t clutter up your creations.

4. Make it interactive

Social media shouldn’t be used as a megaphone as much as a sounding board for your audience. Give them ample opportunity to share their opinions and ideas in your posts by incorporating them into the design. For the best effect, alternate posts that require interaction with those that don’t, so users have a chance to get excited by more interactive posts.

Consider including a way for users to influence brand decisions with their engagement, whether it’s for future social media posts or something as important as a product design choice. When fans and followers know their interaction counts, they will be less likely to skip over your content. They don’t want to experience FOMO (fear of missing out). Something like the next topping for a future burger or a name for a video game character are two examples of how social media posts can garner engagement for future brand decisions.

Pro tip: To be most effective, keep the interaction simple. A click or swipe should be all that’s needed for fans to share their thoughts. Choose a “yes” or “no” poll design instead of offering multiple-choice answers.

5. Be consistent

The number of times you post (and when you post) should be steady from day to day, but this isn’t the only way to offer consistency. Your brand’s color and design choices should also be consistent. Followers should be able to take any of your updates and know they’re yours, even without seeing who posted them.

Colors, logos, and conversational tone are things you have likely included in your brand kit. If not, now is the time to build assets specifically for each social channel. Using a design template can help you keep a consistent feel across your posts. It allows anyone from your marketing and design team to contribute without having to train them extensively or recreate new assets each time.

Pro tip: Consistent design elements build trust and help followers know what to expect from you. If you do have to change your color scheme, font, or other recognizable element, call it out and let users know you’re making the change. Then, they know to look for your updated posts.

Social media: An essential part of brand messaging

UX design is such an important part of business today, but social media design can be overlooked or even considered an afterthought. While it’s tempting to leave your posts to someone without design experience, they should at least have access to your brand kit and some templates that follow your mission for what you want to get across.

One other idea is to do all of your social media designs in batches. For example, Monday is when you create all of your tweets, and Tuesday is the day you create LinkedIn posts. More labor-intensive designs, like those that include video or interactive elements, may be best handled by the same person so they get a feel for what works best on each platform.

Remember, too, that social media is constantly evolving. How people use it today may not look anything like how they use it tomorrow.

That’s why one of the best ways to improve your social media design skills is to experiment and practice constantly. If you haven’t already, try using Penpot’s design features 1 for your next social media experiments, and you’ll see how easy it is to create a wide variety of media assets, from postable memes to anything else you want to try to create.

If users don’t find your product engaging or seamless to use, they may skip it for a competitor’s product. That’s where user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design come in. These closely related disciplines help you build products that put users first.

What is UX design?

User experience (UX) design ensures that the user experience when using a product is meaningful and delivers on the product’s promise. It starts from the moment of concept and is applied even after the product is launched as it gets updated or improved.

UX design incorporates appearance, usability, and the overall feeling a user gets when interacting with it. Put simply, UX design is all about the question, “Is this product delivering on its promise to users?”

What does UX design involve?

UX design is all about the holistic experience for the person using the product, whether it’s a digital one or a physical one. When someone creates optimal UX design, they look at things like what the user intends to use a product for and if that product will ultimately meet that goal. Since it involves measuring outcomes that can vary from person to person, research is key. One user may find an app easy to use, while another may find multiple pain points.

For this reason, UX design can involve a lot of marketing knowledge and understanding of the user journey. The job frequently works with concepts like pain points, desired outcomes, and marketing segments; it may require reading and understanding demographic data, too. It’s not just about the technical aspect of the product; it’s also about how the product makes a person feel and the solution it brings to a person’s life.

UX design also involves a stage of testing and validation. Here is where designers will ask users in their target demographic to try out the idea of the app, either through a prototype or a realistic design. By getting feedback on what a user thinks and feels while using it, as well as listening for problems or concerns, UX designers can go back to the literal drawing board and tweak the design until it makes sense for the ideal user.

UX designers spend a lot of time collaborating with both internal and external stakeholders and must be open to criticism and suggestions.

What skills does a UX designer need?

Like UI designers, UX designers need to be able to collaborate with others and communicate well. The UX designer combines three jobs – or more – to help create the end-to-end user experience, including marketing, project management, and design. They should also be good at research to find out what the end users need and want in a product. Without knowing who their customer is and what they expect from their design, they won’t know what to focus on.

To be a qualified UX designer, you’ll need at least some of the following skills:

• Design and marketing research: This includes competitor analysis, marketing and user research, product strategy, and content creation and development. A UX designer may be involved in every step of the product design and development.
• Wireframing and prototyping: Instead of just creating a design in a wireframe tool, the UX designer will also be involved in the testing and iteration of the prototype, making adjustments, and figuring out how to meet the deadlines for product development as they relate to the testing period.
• Project management and analytics: UX design is not a one-and-done, and UX designers stay involved in product development throughout the life of a product. When it’s time to fix an issue or even launch the 2.0 of a successful product, UX design remains essential to making everything go well.

What is UI design?

User interface (UI) design is the creation of an interface with a focus on information architecture and interaction design. It accomplishes two goals: to communicate information from the product to the user and to communicate information from the user to the product.

UI design determines whether the graphics, information trees, and engagement points make sense and are easy to use. UI design is limited to digital products, such as software or a mobile app –any product that has an interface– and doesn’t apply to physical offerings. The UI design steps usually occur after the “big picture” of a product has been worked out and the site or app concept is ready for details like color, font, or button location.

What does UI design involve?

UI design is, first and foremost, concerned with the interface or the places where users click or interact with the final product. Because this interface is necessary for the overall functionality of the app or site, UI designers spend a lot of time figuring out how individual elements contribute to that functionality.

A website or app that’s pleasant to look at, interactive, and easy to use would embrace the goals of UI. If a user can’t tell if a button is clickable or doesn’t know how to access a dropdown menu, these may be instances of poor UI design.

UI design is often looked at in terms of individual elements, such as “Does this icon fit its intended context?” or “Will a user know to scroll down to get to the information request form?”

Ideally, a product built on solid UI design principles will be:

• Intuitive: Users should be able to begin using the interface right away, with minimal context or direction.
• Simple: The fewer mouse clicks or interactions needed to do a task, the better the UI design.
• Consistent: Style and functionality details should look and act the same across every page and within every interaction.
• Controllable: Users should feel in control of the site or application at all times and that they are working toward a goal rather than away from it.

What skills does a UI designer need?

The job of a UI designer is important, as it determines if a product is useful or not. To be a capable UI designer, you should be able to do the following:

• Understand visual design aspects, such as color, texture, font, and gradients, and be able to create with them interactive elements buttons, icons, menus, text fields, etc.
• Research new design methods and trends based on user needs.
• Analyze data on user intent, experience, and preferences.
• Manage wireframes and prototypes for testing and validating ideas.
• Organize information within the interface layout using accepted information architecture practices.
• Write clear and compelling copy for the interface together with the UX writer, if applicable.

UI designers should work well under deadlines and be able to collaborate with team members from different departments.

What’s the difference between UI and UX design?

There is some overlap between UI and UX design, including ensuring that the product design assists in functionality and creates a frictionless integration.

However, UI design comes into play after the UX designer has conducted research and created a rough sketch of what the product will do. The big picture of the product is already solved, and then the UI designer comes in to bring that idea to life through color, font, button sizes, etc.

UI design only relates to digital products since they are the only ones with digital interfaces.

How to learn more about UX and UI design

One of the best ways to understand the differences between the two disciplines and find out if they are a good career path for you is to start trying them. In fact, many of the UI and UX design skills needed can be self-taught.

In addition to having a willingness to learn and taking initiative for your professional development, you might want to pursue the following:

Take an online boot camp or course

These can help you learn the basics of UI and UX design. Enlist the help of a one-on-one mentor or tutor to help with questions and aspects you find difficult.

Join the design community

Penpot has a growing number of design enthusiasts who use the tool and are continually striving to make great things. By watching what they make and hearing how they use the tool, you can get ideas for improving your own work or even make your own contribution or make a professional connection you can use if you decide you want to enter the industry.

Practice every day

Like most things, design comes with a learning curve. The basic design elements can be quick to master, but truly understanding what users want takes time. You’ll have to make many creations and get lots of feedback to see where you can improve and what special talents you bring to the table.

Create a portfolio

You may be reluctant to put your designs into a showcase for others to see, but it proves you are serious about your work. You never know who might be impressed and offer you an opportunity, and you’ll need to show a portfolio when applying for jobs. If nothing else, it documents the design journey to help you see how far you’ve come over time.

Follow design news and developments

While the principles of design may not have changed much over the years, the way we design has evolved very quickly. From the tools used to the way professionals collaborate, it’s quite amazing how technology has changed how UI and UX designers work!

By staying on top of what’s new in design, you’ll find new opportunities to learn and grow and better understand what’s considered a successful design and use that as a standard for your own success.

Where do you feel more comfortable - on the UX or UI design? Figuring it out with Penpot is easy and just takes just a few minutes to get started. It’s a free and we’ll allow you to experiment as much as you like with any of the templates and libraries we have available. Penpot is a widely recognized app that top designers use every day to collaborate with other designers and developers as part of Product Development teams and you can find loads of inspiration here in this Community space!

Whether you plan on doing UI or UX design for a career or just for fun, there’s never been a better time to put your ideas into action. Try Penpot for free and enjoy!

UI design elements are the pieces that create an engaging website or app experience. Users can’t interact with a site to achieve their goals without them. From clicking links to submitting forms, each user action depends on fully functional and intuitive design elements to get the job done.

However, UI design elements go beyond the typical button, with some of the top UI elements more imaginative and complex than the popular elements of the past.

Get to know the common UI design element categories and the options available for your next project.

Navigational UI design elements

Users need well-placed and easy-to-access navigational tools to get from one part of a site to the next. The UI design elements most associated with this function include the following:

1.Buttons

Users click a button to take an action on a website or within an app, most often to go somewhere else. Buttons can also be used to submit information, save changes, open a new tab or menu, or cancel a previous action. Buttons may not always be button-like and can appear as text or icons.

2.Menus

Just like when used at a restaurant, web menus give users choices of where to go next in an online environment. Menu items may include the home page, a product category, an FAQ page, or a link to a contact form for additional information.

Menus come in different forms. Popular menus used today include:

• Bento: Named after the Japanese lunchbox with small partitions for different foods, it allows designers to show multiple items in a small area using a grid-like form. More important boxes are larger; most have rounded edges to keep a particular aesthetic.
• Hamburger: You’ve probably seen this menu at the top or bottom corner of browsers and apps, displayed as three stacked horizontal lines. When clicked, the menu expands to show navigation or settings options.
• Doner: Similar to a hamburger menu, this UI design element is also made of three lines, although the length of each line decreases from top to bottom. Clicking the menu presents options for navigating or filtering out results.
• Meatballs: With three dots instead of lines, the menu expands to show options for users on a website or app.

3.Breadcrumbs

It’s not practical for users to continuously hit the “return” button to get back to where they came from, and breadcrumbs offer a more seamless approach. They work in a hierarchy to show users the places they previously visited, similar to a family tree.

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4.Tabs

To showcase the most common or popular pages within a site, UI designers may rely on tabs. Users click on them to navigate between sections of a site or app without navigating more complicated link trees or menus.

Container UI design elements

When designers want to group like UI element items together inside a defined space, they have containers to help them. These design elements come in various forms but mimic a box or a picture frame. Containers usually have titles, descriptions, and actions users can take to interact with the container and its elements.

5.Cards

These rectangular objects include information or assets that users can engage with, move, or sort to their liking.

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6.Carousels

These may look like cards, but they have a rotating functionality that automatically surfaces new information to the top or allows users to “flip” through the assets to see the items they find more interesting or useful.

7.Accordions

Designed to appear like the folds of an accordion, users can interact with this UI design element by fanning out card-like assets to see more at once, then collapse them again when finished.

Accordions empower users to choose how they use the space, minimizing less important content to make room for expanding items they want to explore more carefully.

Informational UI design elements

Some parts of a website serve two purposes: to give the user a way to interact and to share important information about their experience. When implemented correctly, informational UI design elements prevent misunderstandings and frustrations.

8.Progress bars

When users fill out a form or wait for an order to process, they may see an empty 3D horizontal bar that slowly fills up with red, green, or another color as a process takes place.

These bars let users know that something is still happening behind the scenes even if it doesn’t appear to be, which encourages patience.

9.Loaders

These work just like progress bars but may not show measurable progress to a user. Instead, they appear as icons going through a set animation, like an hourglass continually refilling or a gear turning.

10.Notifications

When important information must be conveyed to the user quickly, it may appear as a pop-up notification, SMS message, or even a small icon. These notifications may also include sound to help attract the attention of the user.

11.Modals

When a notification won’t go away without a specific action being taken, it’s considered a modal. Modals prevent users from going any further in their experience until they correct a problem, typically by providing more information or closing another window.

Input control UI design elements

Users need a way to provide information to the website, and this category of UI design helps them do so efficiently, effectively, and with few errors. By setting up parameters and keeping the design simple, app and website users can input information and move on to their next task.

12.Text fields

The most basic design elements appear as blank squares or boxes for users to type in. They may have limits, including the type and number of characters used.

13.Search fields

Part navigation and part input, search fields help users articulate what they’re looking for by providing a text field connected to a search indexing app. Categorized articles or assets get discovered when they match terms used by the searcher, creating another useful way to engage with the content.

14.Comments

These are text fields to attach to the current website or app page. They create a thread of text responses for users to engage with over time.

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15.Checkboxes

There are few things simpler than clicking a box to indicate a choice. Checkboxes help users share preferences for marketing opt-in permissions and other important forms.

16.Radio buttons

Radio buttons work similarly to checkboxes. However, with radio boxes, only one selection is allowed per category. If a second button is clicked, the previous selection becomes unselected.

17.Toggles

When there are just two choices for a selection, a toggle helps users indicate their preference. Toggles offer a highly visual way of turning a setting on or off.

18.Dropdown menus

With a different function than navigation menus, these menus are used for inputting information that is more standardized than entering text. For example, giving users a dropdown to select their state ensures everyone uses the same two-letter format with no misspellings.

19.Pickers

A picker works best when users need to select from a long list of options or information combinations (like dates). They can look like a wheel, slider, or calendar to help users get just the right information put into a form.

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20.Slider controls

When a customer wants to select a numerical value within a range, a slide enables that action. It’s commonly used on retail sites as a filtering feature; users might drag the slider to $25 to only show products priced below this amount.

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Choosing the right UI design elements for your project

UI design elements have one goal: to make it easier for users to engage with your product. They should support your overall aesthetic and brand identity but not at the expense of customer usability. Sometimes, the best way to know if a design element works is by trying it out with user testers.

Penpot makes it easy to create a mockup of your UI design and share it with others for feedback. Once you know what works (and what doesn’t), you can make thoughtful tweaks to provide a better user experience.

Why not create your first design today? With Penpot’s free software and library of templates for common applications, you can get started in minutes.

Getting the attention of the fickle app market is a challenge. Only 4.3% of Apple app downloaders will still use an app after 30 days, and the numbers are even lower for Android users.

How can you help solve the problem as a designer? One way to retain your customers is with an amazing user experience propelled by intuitive design. Making UX a priority from the very first sketch of your app improves your success rate, and using online app design software helps simplify the process.

Whether you're a team of one or 100, consider these top contenders for app designers in every industry. If you choose the right solution, creation and collaboration will never be easier. 

1. Penpot

Penpot, the online design tool for designers and developers, offers premium features in a truly no-cost, open-source, and collaborative environment that lets you own your work. The community around it is passionate and cooperative about sharing what they make and how to get the best results.

Pros:

• A real collaboration between design and code where designers, developers and other stakeholders can work together in a seamless workflow. 
• Penpot has been translated into over 30 languages thanks to our open source community.
• A full and versatile library of templates and reusable components helps you get started and create new iterations quickly.
• Use and upload your own fonts and brand assets while retaining all rights to your intellectual property thanks to open standards.

Cons:

• The small (but growing!) community may make it challenging to find inspiration or established use cases for your specific idea. But you can be the next contributor with Penpot's community to inspire others with your templates and design. Learn how you can contribute. 

Pricing: 

$0 for all premium features, including templates, access to the community, training, and developer tools for unlimited editors. Sign up for your free account to get started.

2. Figma

The Figma browser and desktop applications are popular among designers who are knowledgeable about design tools and workflows.

Pros:

• Real-time collaborative design features allow teams of all sizes to work together.
• Its popularity in design and UX circles means more teammates may be familiar with the workflows.

Cons:

• The steep learning curve may be difficult for new users who don’t have much design software experience.
• Like many pro-level design tools, it can use quite a bit of processing power and memory; it may not be suitable for older computers.

Pricing:

• $0 for one user with three files
• Professional: $12 per month ($12 if billed annually) for one editor, unlimited files, team libraries, and developer mode
• Organization: $45 per month (annual billing only) for one editor, branching and merging, unified admin, private plugins, and single sign-on
• Enterprise: $75 per month (annual billing only) for one editor, dedicated workspaces, network access controls, and onboarding support.

3. Sketch

The Sketch macOS app offers an intuitive interface for even novice designers.

Pros:

• Simplified controls and natural iconography take the guesswork out of putting mockups together.
• It offers offline and local file support.

Cons:

• While files can be reviewed from any operating system, design work can only happen in macOS at the time of publication.
• The Mac-only plan doesn’t offer live collaboration or browser-based collaboration on files.

Pricing:

• Standard: $12 per month ($10 if billed annually) for one editor to design on a Mac device and collaborate in a browser
• Business: $20 per month billed annually with unlimited cloud storage, enhanced customer support, and single sign-on

Mac-only license: $120 for a one-time purchase with no collaborative or web features

4. UXPin

Created with prototypers in mind, the UXPin collaborative tool lets teams work together in real time.

Pros:

• The software offers a similar environment to developer tools, so those already well-versed in the top developer tools (Chrome DevTools, Facebook for Developers, etc.) will have no trouble learning quickly.
• It is easy to import files and assets from other top tools and integrations.

Cons:

• It has limited help resources and support guides compared to other applications.
• The template library is small and doesn’t offer many examples of use cases.

Pricing:

• $0 for two prototypes and unlimited users
• Advanced: $39 per month ($29 if billed annually) for one user, unlimited prototypes, and conditional variables
• Professional: $83 per month ($69 if billed annually) for one user with advanced permissions and custom fonts
• Company: $149 a month ($119 if billed annually) for one user with version history, Storybook integration, and component manager

Enterprise: Custom pricing only; comes with training, onboarding, and a dedicated account manager, plus version control.

5. Lunacy

Used as a vector-based graphic design tool for everything from magazines to software solutions, Lunacy bundles the creation software with a robust library of assets and enhanced editing features.

Pros:

• It uses less virtual memory and storage space than legacy software applications.
• The included graphics library contains hundreds of fonts, illustrations, and design elements.

Cons:

• It can only be downloaded as an online or offline software application; it has no browser-based capabilities.
• This native application has limited collaboration tools for large teams and those wanting to collaborate in real time within the app.

Pricing:

• Free: $0 for the basic software with asset attribution requirements.

Paid: The price varies depending on the use of assets, such as photographs, music, and other copyrighted materials.

6. Mockitt

Mockitt by Wondershare appeals to those wanting to get started quickly, even without design experience.

Pros:

• A relatively simple interface and intuitive design allow users to learn quickly and get right to work.
• An extensive template library consists of official designs as well as those created by the community.

Cons:

• Limited functionality makes it more appropriate for wireframes and prototypes than full designs.
• Ongoing lag or connectivity issues have been reported by the community.

Pricing:

• Starter: $0 for one user with three files
• Professional: $12 per month ($8 if billed annually) with one editor, 100 files, access to premium templates, and AI tools
• Enterprise: $15 per month ($12 if billed annually) with one editor, unlimited files, all premium features, and an exclusive domain.

7. Origami Studio

The Facebook-backed app Origami Studio is a unique way to build high-fidelity prototypes by copying from Sketch and Figma.

Pros:

• Realistic design features help users get their ideas to look very similar to the final prototype.
• The real-time preview option helps you create new iterations as you go. 

Cons:

• It can be cumbersome to build large multi-screen prototypes with many layers.
• It is only available for macOS at the time of publication.

Pricing:

The app is free to download for use with macOS devices and assets from Apple iPhones.

Picking the right app design tools for your teams

With so many options on the market, knowing where to start can be tricky. Fortunately, many of the products on this list have free trials to help you test them out before committing. Some, like Penpot, are free for life, so you don’t have to worry about finding room in your budget once you do fall in love with it.

Consider if the tool is made for teams. If your company (and its projects) grow in size, will your technology be able to keep up? Frequent documentation, patches, and upgrades are important, too. If you haven’t seen anything recent from an app’s development team, it may not be as responsive to the community as you would like.

Finally, consider your client’s point of view. You may love creating with an app, but will they love giving feedback through it? If it’s not easy for beginners to work with, they may try working around your app tool, using emails or Slack messages to tell you how they feel. One of the major perks of a design app is its collaboration features, so make sure it’s welcoming enough for clients to embrace so they can really be part of the process.

Sign up for Penpot and get a risk-free look at how it can improve your team’s workflow. It’s free forever; no payment method required.

Figma is a popular option for designers and developers today, but it doesn’t meet all of their needs. So they search for new options.

For a tool to replace a legacy solution like Figma, it must be a suitable replacement and wow users with its unique features. Since it can be a lot of work to move everything from one tool to another, users seek intuitive features that “get” what it takes to bring a design project to life.

That’s why many professionals have turned to Penpot. It isn’t a simple one-and-done substitution for Figma. While it does address many of the most frustrating design issues that products like Figma may have, it also offers so much more. Here’s why you’ll want to upgrade your projects with Penpot, the open-source, collaborative solution that truly elevates how designers and developers work.

1. Cohesive design and development workflow

Unlike Figma, Penpot was conceived from day one to help designers and developers work hand-in-hand throughout the product creation process. The open standards enable these professionals to use the same toolchain and avoid disruptions caused by having to hand off their work. 

Instead, developers can use the same design tool as the designers, reducing disconnect, confusion, and the number of steps in the overall development process.

Also Penpot’s comments and communication workflows help everyone add notes and ask for clarification no matter what time zone they work in. This is especially useful for distributed teams that need instant communication to quickly advance the progress of their projects.

2. Seamless cross-team collaboration

One of the most common issues that plague design and development teams is hand-off delays. If a piece gets delayed in one department without others knowing, the workflow is disrupted, and projects go past the launch date.

With Penpot, we’ve eliminated this problem by making it so that everyone — designers and developers — is speaking the same language. Whereas in Figma (and other similar platforms), there is a need for developers to “translate” design to code, with Penpot, everything is based on the same CSS standards.

Since there is no translation, designers and developers are free to build projects together in real time. That means more collaboration, fewer headaches, and more accurate overall results for your users. 

3. Multilingual and RTL support 

From the very beginning, Penpot has incorporated RTL (right-to-left) support to make the tool as inclusive as possible for as many people as possible. The tool will automatically detect and adjust for RTL languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. 

Penpot’s community is also currently in the process of translating the tool into over 30 languages, including Basque, Chinese, Czech, and Dutch, in addition to the two fully supported languages of English and Spanish. This means that Penpot will only become more inclusive for multilingual teams as time goes on.

4. Self-hosting options

Penpot was designed to be used in a browser without the need to download anything or worry about software compatibility. However, if what you worry about is the security and privacy to keep your data on your own server, self host is the ideal choice.

As an agnostic platform, you can use it without pricey SaaS subscriptions or the limitations of a specific OS. It offers complete freedom to control, back up, and own the files on your device, as well as customize the program exactly how you want via the open-source code. The SaaS solution and self-hosted solution are identical and give you the same flexibility to build and control your work.

5. Customizable with an API

Penpot is proudly open-source, which means you can customize it for your needs. Have an idea on how to make it better suited for your business? Tweak it just the way you want.

You don't have to rely on internal coding knowledge, either. APIs exist that seamlessly plug into Penpot to give you endless customization options. With the inclusion of an API, it’s now easier to plug and play with your vision of Penpot. With the 1.19 release, users can access tokens and an API for complete flexibility of continuous development. 

With so many options for self-hosting, hacking, and innovating, it’s possible to get the exact workflow you want with Penpot’s totally free software. That’s the beauty of Open Source, and you only have to look at what those in the Penpot community are doing to see what’s possible.

6. Flex Layout

The Penpot app's simple interface makes it easy for anyone to get started, even those with no code experience. Some of the unique features of Penpot come inside the Flex Layout, which gives you more space and freedom to put your best ideas into digital form. Top perks include:

• Absolute position that lets you put an element exactly where you want it, even if there isn’t enough room to do so in the space you’ve chosen. Get rid of elements from the Flex Layout flow with this handy feature.
• Smart spacing for the intuitive realization of padding, margins, and the spaces between objects. Use drag motions to resize things to the size Penpot predicts will work the best in your composition. Without having to space things manually, you'll save time and have things lined up perfectly.
• With wrapping for dynamic layouts, you can adapt to different screen sizes and even device orientations. Get the right dynamic design for a tablet on its side and then see how it compares to a mobile device or desktop browser. With this feature, you can automatically see if items need to wrap to new lines or if they go outside the borders. There are no surprises when it comes time to test your design for various devices and technologies.
• Z-index management helps you know what elements should be on top in an overlapping design while keeping the order intact. Powered by CSS standards, it saves so much time and helps you think through designs without disruption. 

7. CSS Grid Layout

The CSS Grid Layout offers a convenient way to visualize how your design would appear within grids in CSS. This developer-friendly benefit looks like a grid within Flex Layout and helps support detailed designs with stunning precision and a consistent look across your project components. 

As another example of how design and development can meld into one amazing collaborative effort, Grid Layout enables a higher level of detail at earlier stages in the creation process. 

Penpot and Figma: Different but not equal

Penpot empowers developers just as well as it does designers, so you don’t have to bounce between tools. Not only does Penpot use the same language and interface from stage to stage, but it also gives every stakeholder a way to peek inside the inner workings of each design, offer recommendations, and lend their best skills to the project. It blurs the lines between design and development while maintaining the high standards and specialized functions needed by each team.

Above all, Penpot is free and open-source. You won’t have to pay a dime to use it, and it’s accessible enough for anyone to get their first project started quickly.

With no budgetary constraints and a community of highly supportive fans to inspire you, it’s not surprising that Penpot is seen as not merely a substitution for other tools; it’s truly a shift to a new way of working.

Whether you have design or developer experience (or none at all), getting started with Penpot requires a quick login and an open browser window. Try it and see why it’s the replacement for forward-thinking creatives. 

You’ve been there before. Staring at a screen, weighing the pros and cons of a subscription fee, or attempting to navigate yet another clunky interface. Trying to find the perfect design tool is like hunting for a pixel in a video game — especially if you’re not willing to throw money at it before testing the waters. 

Enter Penpot, your game-changing free design tool. We believe in simplifying the design journey through a no-cost, open-source environment that respects your time, budget, and creative process.

We know the world of online design tools is vast. It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle of promises of “the next big thing.” So, let’s unpack why Penpot stands apart and helps you transform your workflow in ways no other tool can. 

1. Seamlessly transition from design to development

How often do you feel like you and the developers on your team don’t speak the same language? As if you don’t fully understand each other, and things inevitably get lost in translation? 

That’s a symptom of a bigger problem that Penpot solves. Our tool is fundamentally built in a way that resonates with developers. Coded with Clojure, which produces SVG files, Penpot speaks a language that helps developers have access to open standards. Features like the CSS Grid Layout and Flex Layout mirror front-end languages, making it a playground where designers create, and developers easily adapt. 

When developers feel at ease implementing straight from Penpot, it translates to quicker project completions and fewer revisions. Your design vision remains intact, and there’s no need for a developer handoff. 

Our free design tool bridges a gap that’s only been getting wider. Penpot brings design systems, components, interactive prototypes, and feedback loops to the forefront. We empower designers and developers to work together and craft scalable software experiences that truly resonate with end-users.

2. Break free from SaaS limitations with self-hosting

We've all heard the scary tales. A company's data being held hostage due to proprietary limitations. Unexpected service interruptions at the worst possible times. And the aggravation of being unable to migrate essential data to a different platform when the need arises. 

These scenarios aren’t just inconvenient — they cost time, money, and trust. With traditional SaaS solutions, you're limited by their rules, their infrastructure, and their whims. But Penpot is different. We offer the freedom of self-hosting, so you can dictate where your data lives and who can access it. Especially in today's environment, where data security is essential, having full control over where and how your design tool operates can save heaps in potential breaches and data mishaps. 

Self-hosting with us isn’t a one-size-fits-all affair. We know each team has unique needs, so you’re free to tailor, tweak, and integrate our tool to sync seamlessly with other services you use. Penpot allows you endless ways to customize your tool and integrate it with other via API. Find out more on this video:

3. Design, prototype, delight — all in one go

With Penpot, you don’t have to bounce around between multiple platforms to bring your vision to life. Our free design tool is a one-stop shop for all your project needs. Design, prototype, and present, all within Penpot's streamlined platform.

You can quickly set triggers that respond to user actions, whether it's a click, mouse movement, or a timer on your interactive prototypes. Open URLs, create overlays, and navigate seamlessly within your design — it's all straightforward. 

But interaction isn’t just about function; it's about feel. You can add transitions like fades and pulls to create smooth user experiences. And as designs grow to serve multiple user paths and devices, Penpot’s Flows feature comes into play. You can easily map different user routes within one design to keep everything organized and accessible in your prototyping designs. 

Once you’re ready to demo your work, Penpot's Presentation Mode lets you simulate product behaviors for effective user testing. 

4. Enhance teamwork with unmatched collaboration features

At Penpot, we recognize that teamwork is the lifeblood of design projects. Our suite of collaboration features keeps every stakeholder in sync, in real-time, to streamline the creation process and squash the need for multiple platforms.

With our multiplayer feature, team members can simultaneously work on a design to secure cohesion and minimize discrepancies that could lead to revisions down the line. Contextual and actionable feedback is pivotal, and Penpot facilitates it with direct comments on designs and prototypes. You and your team can engage in invaluable discussions right where it matters, eliminating the need for countless email threads or separate feedback tools. 

Collaboration isn't just limited to your immediate team. You can use the Share Presentations feature to quickly create and distribute shareable links for prototypes, and set permissions to determine who can comment or inspect it. 

You can tap into our exporting features when you need to take your designs outside of Penpot or share them with someone not on your team. Whether you're looking to share a Penpot file with an external collaborator or create a backup outside of the app, you can choose between binary formats or open standards. Set export presets, manage multiple exports, and create PDF presentations without leaving the platform. 

5. Accelerate creativity with a comprehensive resources library

Think of a time when you're in the groove of a project and hit a roadblock. You may be unsure about how a certain feature works or you could use a template to get things moving. In moments like these, trying to figure something out on your own can disrupt the creative flow. And every second you spend scouring the web for resources or interpreting a tool without help is time not spent designing.

Penpot steps in with a comprehensive resources library, crafted to keep your creativity on track with help from a supportive community that’s already familiar with the tool. We go beyond customer support and provide a rich set of resources in the form of:

• A help center: No more endless googling. Our Help Center is packed with detailed guides on using Penpot, FAQs, and technical and contribution walkthroughs. It's your go-to place for any Penpot-related queries. 
• Videos: Our YouTube channel isn't just about us. While we do publish helpful content, we also curate playlists featuring insightful material from community authors. It's visual learning, simplified. 
• Ready-to-use libraries and templates: Why start from scratch when you can hit the ground running? Explore a collection of files designed to jumpstart your projects and streamline your workflow, courtesy of our team and the Penpot community.
• An engaged community of like-minded people: Collaboration is at the heart of Penpot. We provide a public space for users to interact, share insights, and even discuss the platform's direction. It's a dynamic environment where you're not just a user; you're a contributor. 

Unlock your potential with Penpot’s free design tool

Your potential is only as useful as the tools you employ, and Penpot is your ally in this journey. Our tool offers an environment where creativity isn’t just fostered but amplified.

Bridge gaps in teamwork and redefine the boundaries of what you can create. Experience Penpot for yourself — it's free and ready to revolutionize your design process.

The most complex innovations often start with a simple process. Penpot’s free, open-source app helps to document design ideas in a way that’s simple enough, even for those with no design experience.

So, even if you’ve never created a digital sketch or mockup before, this step-by-step tutorial will get you well on the path to making the next big thing. 

Setting up Penpot

What do you need to begin using Penpot right away? Just your computer. In fact, one of Penpot’s best features is that it runs on your browser, so you don’t have to download or install any additional software. You can even use it on notebook computers with minimal processing power or memory; it’s a lightweight app that only requires you to be online when you use it.

To begin, go to the Penpot site from the latest Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser. (Other browsers may not offer the best experience.)

You’ll be prompted to set up an account if you’ve never used it before, opting between an email/password login, Google login, or GitHub/GitLab account login.

Finding your way around

With your account set up, you’ll be immediately placed into the Penpot interface, which has three main parts: Dashboard, Workspace, and View Mode. Moving between them is necessary to build, add to, and review your project, as well as share it with others for feedback.

Dashboard

This is where you'll create, save, and store files, as well as manage the sharing of any projects. If you need to find a past project, go here. You'll also upload custom fonts to this Dashboard and check it for notifications about team comments or changes. If you want to use a pre-existing template to jump-start your project, it’s located here in the Dashboard.

Workspace

This is where the design magic happens! Draw new designs, drag and drop assets, change colors and sizing, and manage design layers. You can also zoom in and out, see who is viewing the project, and check the editing history to undo any unwanted changes. Prototyping and Inspection capabilities can be accessed from the Workspace.

View Mode

When your UI design is ready for review, share it with others from here. Not only can you share individual pages as well as complete boards, but this is also where the animations and transitions will take effect. Consider this to be the big presentation where you show off your work. View Mode also features the Inspect functionality, so details like measurements and distances for each object can be seen. If you need CSS code snippets for styles, you can access them – along with SVG markup – here.

Starting your first design

One of the quickest and easiest ways to make your first Penpot design is by starting with a template, the tutorial for beginners is a good one to start with. Penpot offers a wide selection of kits to modify and adapt to your unique needs. Uploading and using a template is easy, watch this video and learn how to use a template. 

Penpot has a library of resources. Just be sure to download the .penpot template file and remember where you saved it. When you’re ready to work on it, go to the Libraries tab on your Dashboard. Then, drag and drop the template file into the upload box. You’ll be asked to accept the file before it is imported. 

Organizing a template

For this example, we are using the mobile UI kit template. It comes with many different sample web app pages shown as layers within a single page, but you may not find all of them useful. Start by duplicating or deleting them in the Layers tab on the left hand until you have what you need to edit.

First, locate the layer that represents the app function or view you want to delete. If you aren’t sure which layer goes with which illustration, hover over the layer with your mouse and watch which one appears highlighted. Right-click on the layer you no longer want and select Delete. You can also use this hover/right-click method to duplicate a layer, cut and paste it in another location, add it to a board, or rotate it.

Now that you have just the sample illustrations you want for your project, you can now start with one of them to begin editing. Find one that most matches your idea. It’s okay if you don’t use much of one; deleting it and starting almost completely over is still easier than creating one from scratch, especially if you want to maintain the sizing of the template example.

Collecting your assets

You’ll most likely want to personalize templates with your own fonts, graphics, and other components. To get started using your own assets, go to the Dashboard and click on the Libraries tab. Here, you can drag and drop files to use in your UI design and even share them with other users. To add fonts, click on the Fonts tab and upload font files by dragging and dropping them into the uploader.

(Note: Be sure you own the rights to any fonts you use before uploading them.)

With your library full of custom components and fonts, you can now resume editing your UI design template.

Editing a template

To begin working on your edited template design, click on the Drafts tab from your Dashboard. You'll be taken to your project to resume editing. You can begin with any layer that you want to edit by clicking on the layer from the left-hand side. Remove individual assets within each layer by deleting them or adding new ones from your library.

When you have placed an asset where you want it on your design, you can adjust the color, shape, size, and more with the tools on the right-hand side of the workstation. The easiest way to manipulate assets is by using the shortcuts in Penpot, which closely mirror shortcuts in other design tools, like Blender 3D. Rather than trying to remember all of the shortcuts, click the keyboard icon at the bottom of the far-left toolbar. This action brings up the list of shortcuts to select from and the search bar for finding the shortcut you want. 

You can also mark up each illustration directly with the tools on the far left of the Workspace. Draw freehand with pencil, make ellipsis, change the color palette, or add text. Upload images directly from your computer by choosing the image icon and selecting the image file you want to import.

Your progress saves as you work, but you can see the history at any time by clicking the clock icon on the top of the right-hand side of the screen. It will show you some actions you have taken and give you the chance to go back to that save point.

Creating a design from scratch

Templates may not be the best fit for your project, so Penpot also offers a blank canvas for getting creative with your ideas. To start from the beginning with a new UI design, go to your Dashboard and click the New Project button with the plus sign on the right side of your screen. It will bring up a new project under your file list that you can select and launch in the Workspace.

This Workspace will have no parameters assigned so that you can make infinite use of the canvas. Penpot offers convenient tools for making even your most unique designs more ordered. The grid function, dynamic alignment, rulers, and guides help you stay within the limits and make components in a similar size and format.

Sharing, viewing, and collaborating

Your design is just the beginning of your project, but it’s an important one. With your rough sketch now in digital form, you can ask for feedback from teammates, clients, and stakeholders to help get it to the next stage of reality. Add comments to your design at any time by clicking the speech bubble icon on the left-hand side of the Workspace.

With this icon highlighted, any place you click on the design will create a comment field. Add your notes, ask for advice, or share directions with others. A running notes list will populate on the right-hand side of the Workspace when the Comments icon is selected and active. You can see what others have to say about the project here.

This is only the beginning of what you can do with Penpot. After your initial design is complete, use the Prototype tab on the right-hand side of the page to add interactions and workflows on how users will experience your design. Or, select Inspect to see screen sizes, CSS code, and other element details to help you plan for the development phase.

Penpot’s design tools are sophisticated enough for the most advanced platform designs but take little time to master. Even if you haven't been involved in this stage of UI work, the simple interface and intuitive collaboration tools will have everyone building better things together. 

Looking for additional inspiration for your next project? Watch our video tutorial on creating masks if you'd like to see the feature in action.

Good design is universal. Whether it's in a Japanese banking app or a Mexican cooking blog, people appreciate and recognize good design when they see it. 

Unfortunately, much of the design software on the web is far more limiting. Proprietary software owned by massive corporations forces designers to work within their walled gardens. You use the security they choose, the formats they like, and pay a premium to do so. 

These limitations are why the open-source movement is so important. Open-source design software gives designers and developers the chance to customize every aspect of what they do to fit their needs and create better designs for their users. And that’s not all. Here are five reasons why switching to open-source design software (and open-source products in general) makes all the difference for you, your teams, and the internet at large.

What does Open Source mean?

Open Source is all about being transparent and collaborative with the code behind your software. Typically, companies keep their proprietary code secret. Nobody outside of the company can see it or change it. Open-source software developers put their code on the internet where anyone can inspect it, fix bugs, and suggest changes or make forks.

Not only does this foster transparency and trust, as people know exactly what your software does (and doesn’t) do. But also, it helps build a global community of developers and users who are working towards a better-designed internet.

5 benefits of open-source design software

This list focuses on the benefits of open-source design software specifically. However, many of the benefits we list below apply to the general argument for open-source software.

1. More secure

Unlike many people may think, your data is more secure on an open-source design platform because, with Open Source, you’re free to self-host your data. This means you don’t need to rely on larger companies who may be likelier targets for hackers.

In 2023 alone, there have been major data leaks from companies like:

• MOVEit: When this transfer software was hacked, more than 60 million people had their data leaked. 
• MailChimp: Hackers gained access to 133 accounts on this email marketing platform, allowing them to steal contact lists, emails, and more. 
• T-Mobile: This telecommunications giant has actually suffered two breaches this year, which included the loss of sensitive data like names, addresses, and social security numbers. 

To be clear, an open-source program is not inherently more secure. However, it does give owners more control of their data with options for self-hosting and authentication protocols. Also, with an active community of designers and developers, there are more eyes scouring source code, ensuring potential bugs or glitches get patched before they’re a security risk. 

2. More customization and flexibility

Because the code is open and available, those with the know-how can customize open-source design platforms to perfectly suit their needs. Here are a couple of practical ways this could help your design team:

• Authentication: Insert your preferred authentication method into the platform so your data stays secure.
• Integrations: Connect your design platform with other SaaS platforms for a more efficient design process.
• Backups: Set up automatic backups at regular intervals to your preferred location so you don’t need to worry about corrupted files or lost work hours. 

So, if you don’t like something on an open-source program, you are free to modify your instance via the API. This freedom means that your designers can bring their vision to life without needing to compromise due to platform limitations. 

3. Cost-effective

Keeping a fully stocked tech stack isn’t cheap. Whether a SaaS product nickels and dimes you on features, seats, or something else, it seems like the costs of design only go up. 

This trend probably won’t change anytime soon either as, according to the SaaS Inflation Index, spending on SaaS products has doubled in the last five years, and prices are currently growing four times faster than inflation. 

In contrast, most open-source products are free or nearly free. Penpot’s open-source design software is completely free to use, making its use accessible to more people. Sign up and start building their latest projects right away.

4. Gives you access to robust community resources

One of the most important features of an open-source program is its community. As more designers and developers use the platform, they’ll find new ways to make it better. This can take the form of:

• Helping answer questions on the forum.
• Sharing resources that anyone can use.
• Offering tips and tricks to get more out of a platform.
• Guiding devs on what new features could get added.
• Finding bugs early in new releases.
• Contributing with language translations or code pull requests. 

At Penpot, our Community is full of people who are doing all of the above and more. From instances of people asking our team to be part of our beta tests to templates shared by members of the Community with anyone who wants them, this sense of community makes Penpot more than the sum of its parts. 

It’s not that closed-source programs can’t also have communities — many do. But, having access to the source code allows for a more creative and collaborative environment where everyone can contribute.  

5. Interoperability

One of the biggest hurdles in the design world currently is a lack of interoperability. Some platforms may only work on MacOS or only support a few certain proprietary file types. 

This means that working with your designs outside of that specific design platform or ecosystem becomes far more work than it's worth. It also might mean large inefficiencies if you’re forced to use multiple design platforms when tackling different issues across your company.

The issue of interoperability is a huge one that is still far from solved. However, open-source design software is leading the way towards a more interoperable future.  

For instance, at Penpot, we’ve improved interoperability by: 

• Choosing Open Standards: SVG is our native file format because it’s an Open Standard that’s widely used across the internet. This allows teams to import, export, and change files across systems as needed without worry.
• Making it browser-based: Penpot works with several different browsers that are all available on major operating systems. Your team can access Penpot regardless of whether they’re on Mac, Windows, or mobile.
• Implementing CSS Grid and Flex Layout: Our CSS Grid Layout and Flex Layout features instantly translates what designers create in Penpot into CSS, one of the most used design languages available. This breaks the barrier between designer and developer languages so they can work together on one tool for more collaborative designs. And HTML is available too. 
• Promoting translations: With community support, open-source programs can more easily translate their tools so they are available to more people across the web. Currently, Penpot is being translated into over 35 languages by the community. 

All of this work adds up to Penpot and other open-source programs like it, working for more people. Plus, as open-source grows, it becomes easier for more programs to embrace interoperability so that one day, the internet can work as a unified system.

Find a design tool that’s right for you

There are a lot of design tools available on the web today, both open-source and closed-source. Although we may be a little biased in which one we think is best, we also know that every team has its own needs and circumstances.

That’s why we looked at seven of the best free design tools currently on the market. We’ve broken down these tools by use case and explained all their key features so you can make an informed decision when deciding to try out a new tool to bring your latest designs to life. 

Remember sitting down to create your first big design? You had a flash of inspiration, a genius idea you just had to get out. What was the first thing you did? Probably sketched it out to give yourself an idea of what it would look like. That’s a wireframe design.

Wireframes set you up for success, especially when creating UX projects. But to master them, you need to understand how to get started, why it’s best for ideation, and why you won’t want to keep your wireframes to yourself.

Wireframing is a popular tool for UX design professionals to show how users will interact with the page. From layout to user flow, this blueprint helps demonstrate the core functionality of a project in its early stages. It’s a key collaboration tool.

Wireframes work best right after a “Eureka!” moment before designers start creating prototypes. It’s most effective when brainstormers and stakeholders are figuring out what they will make and still exploring if it’s an idea at all. From there, you can get feedback, ideas for additional features, and what’s needed to bring it to life.

The benefits of wireframes

Wireframes shine in creating a starting point for any UX project. While simple in appearance, they are often the first opportunity to get the bugs out of an app or site. Consider these key traits of wireframes:

• Affordable: Compared to other steps in the design and development process (such as prototyping), wireframes are cheap to use and iterate upon.
• Effective: These somewhat crude drawings do what they are intended to do: create an initial structure to plan around. Just having something written down helps team members envision the project, offer feedback, and stay accountable to the design.
• Efficient: With a wireframe to operate from, clients and stakeholders have something to engage with and critique early in the process, limiting confusion and needless revisions.
• User-focused: Wireframes are built with the end in mind. They skip the flashy colors and get to the heart of the question, “What does this project do for the end user?” They are often the first documented version of an idea before additional bells and whistles can muddy the waters of the initial vision.
• Accessible: Wireframes use simple sketches to communicate big ideas in minutes. Like a storyboard for a film or book, wireframes act as the visual representation of what’s to come. You don’t need jargon to get the message across, and even those without a background in design or development can literally get the picture. If someone doesn’t understand your wireframe, it’s most likely that your idea, not the visual depiction of it, needs refining.

These illustrations cover an app’s information architecture and page functionality, with little to no mention of backend capabilities. It’s the perfect tool for pitching an idea to those with no technical experience. Because a wireframe looks like something drawn on a napkin, it invites feedback. There’s less fear of ruining a work in progress that’s still in the sketch stage.

What types of wireframe designs are there?

All wireframes are somewhat bare bones — basic versions of the real product or page. However, there is some variation even with this level of quality.

• Very rough sketch wireframes (also called “low-fidelity”) only use basic blocks in the process or design of the app. They may not even use the actual names or text used in the app, relying on filler text to show where text might go.
• At the next level of detail are mid-fidelity wireframes; they offer the most simplistic view while still preserving some of the differentiation between components or steps. No color is used, but grayscale may be utilized to show how text types stand out. Boldness, line thickness, and shade variation show detail even within black-and-white themes.
• With high-fidelity wireframes, you get some pixel-level quality, and text is filled in where it may appear in the prototype or mockup phases. Nesting menus or collapsible windows are indicated, graphics are drawn in better detail, and color may be used in some cases. This is still a basic version of the final project, with some additional clues to demonstrate what users will experience.

You may find you need one or multiple types of wireframes, especially if you encounter them more often. If you don’t have much of an idea of what your app will do, a low-fi version might suffice. High-fi wireframes are reserved for instances where your final project has too many interactive features to rely on what can only be drawn on a whiteboard. It often takes time to figure out what’s best for your situation.

How to create your first wireframe

Even if you’ve never used a wireframe before, getting started is incredibly simple. Penpot is a free, open-source wireframing tool that lets you maintain ownership of your wireframe ideas and creations. Launch the the Penpot app from within your browser or run it through your own server using Docker. Creating a wireframe from scratch is simple with the Penpot shortcuts and easy user interface. If you need inspiration for getting started, select from several curated templates. You can then edit it to make it your own and show your next project idea with clarity.

After a few times using templates, you may find you don't need them anymore. Creating your own wireframes from scratch may give you the freedom to come up with completely new ideas. You can always go back to using templates or even turn your new creations into future templates that you own for your teams to use again and again. And sharing your templates with others can inspire innovation.

Best practices for creating your first wireframe include:

• Skip the small details. They clutter up the design and aren’t needed at this stage. Save them for prototyping.
• Keep it simple. Even the most complicated apps should be sketched out in a minimalist form. Think boxes, lines, and chunky designs. It’s similar to how you would draw a treasure map in the sand.
• Stick to black and white. Unless you are using a high-fidelity wireframe, you don't need color at all (and even then, just one bold color would be needed). Use shades of gray to indicate color differences where needed.
• Save it in a compatible format. If you are importing the wireframe into another design app, be sure you save it with the correct file extension. Using a Penpot file type makes it easy to open the file again in Penpot.

Once you have created your wireframe design, it’s just the beginning of how you’ll use it. Share it widely, ask others to add their own special touches, and come back to the drawing board (literally) again and again until you have a basic design you love. While this won’t be the last you’ll see of your wireframe, you can now move into the prototyping and mockup stages with a better idea of your product mission.

Remember, wireframes help with planning, but they also make excellent pieces of documentation for the entire process. When you feel like you've taken a wrong turn somewhere, it can be a valuable experience to come back to that initial wireframe and figure out the next steps.

Remember, wireframes help with planning, but they also make excellent pieces of documentation for the entire process. When you feel like you’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere, it can be a valuable experience to come back to that initial wireframe and figure out the next steps.

The best way to get started wireframing

While simple, wireframes can still be a bit intimidating for those who have never created one. That’s why templates are such valuable resources. With a rough structure already laid out for you, it’s easier to move, adjust, and fill in the additional components of your wireframe to help it represent your next big idea. Penpot gets you started with dozens of wireframe templates and designs for all types of applications. Delete what you don’t need, add something new, and make it your own.

Penpot is trusted by hundreds of thousands of designers, developers, and creatives to work together seamlessly in designing the products and ideas of the future. Since it’s an open-source tool, you can be assured that even your most closely guarded concepts will always remain yours, and you can access them at any time through the web-based tools offered through Penpot. The easy collaboration features make it easy to share and get feedback on your templates or even get templates from others. With Penpot, there’s no limit to the ways you can sketch out your next project in the making.

Welcome to the very first post on the Penpot blog! We'd like to introduce you into an ocean of insights within the intersection of Design, Code and Open Source worlds.

On our blog, you'll meet different voices from the Penpot team, as well as friends from the Design and Code worlds, who will share their knowledge, challenges, and triumphs.

We'll cover the fundamentals of Design and Code for new designers and developers, to deep dives into Penpot's inspiring stories, and exciting announcements.

So, please come in and make yourself comfortable - mi casa es tu casa! - and join us on this journey by subscribing. We hope you enjoy it.