Only a few years ago, the big debate was Photoshop vs Sketch. Now, many design tools such as Figma, Invision Studio, Adobe XD, and Framer X have been rising in popularity — each with a set of unique features and offerings. Though vanilla Sketch lacks many of these innovative features, these 11 plugins fill the gap and make all the difference.
Essential Plugins
1. Anima Toolkit
The team at Anima have been doing a fantastic job at adding features that Sketch desperately needs through the Anima Toolkit Sketch plugin. They offer many features from exporting code to breakpoints in layouts, but the two I wanted to focus on are Stacks and Padding. Note that these two can be used with Nested Symbols, so they can be very powerful.
Stacks
Stacks define the layout for child elements in a group. It can be used to build responsive grids and components.
Padding
Anima Toolkit’s Padding allows components to resize based on dynamic content. Great for buttons!
2. Abstract ($9/mo. Free for students.)
Abstract is like Git for design files. With version control and options for team collaboration, say goodbye to merge errors on Dropbox for files that look like “v6 final final ACTUALLYfinal”.
3. Runner Pro ($20 one-time fee for Pro version. 50% for students.)
Spotlight for Sketch. Run any action, jump to artboards, insert symbols, install plugins…with just the keyboard. It’s incredibly convenient, and an absolute must-get for Sketch users. Pro is paid, but there is a free version as well.
4. AEUX (for After Effects users)
Import a Sketch document to After Effects as layers.
5. Browser Preview
Convert the current Sketch artboard to be viewable on the web browser as if it was coded out. View design documents to proper scale (it’s very helpful if you’re designing for a 12" screen on a 27" 4K monitor).
Download Browser Preview here.
Plugins For Organization
6. Symbols Manager ($19.99 one-time fee)
View all symbols in a folder structure.
Buy and download Symbols Manager here.
7. Symbols Organizer
Organize messy symbols in a tight grid. Best if used in combination with Symbols Manager!
Download Symbols Organizer here.
8. Text Styles Manager ($19.99 one-time fee)
Same as Symbols Manager, but for Text Styles.
Buy and download Text Styles Manager here.
9. Rename It
Rename multiple layers more efficiently. Say goodbye to layer names like “Rectangle Copy Copy 8”!
Plugins For Convenience
10. Align Layers
Use keyboard shortcuts for aligning elements. It’s seriously convenient.
11. Camera Hotkeys
Use StarCraft style camera hotkeys for Sketch to navigate around documents. It takes a bit to get used to, but it can be very useful if you find yourself jumping around a document a lot.
Third-Party Apps
PixelSnap ($25 one-time fee)
Measure everything. With the Sketch integration, it can measure regardless of zoom size.
Contrast ($6.99 one-time fee)
Make sure your designs match accessibility standards.
Buy and download Contrast here.
Sip ($10 one-time fee)
Pick colors and access them directly from the clipboard or color history dock. There are free alternatives as well.
Sim Daltonism
Simulate how your designs would look to a color blind person.
If you have any questions / feedback / suggestion, feel free to DM me on Twitter (@jayhxmo) or send me an email to jay[at]jaymo.io.
