Adobe XD is a powerful, vector-based tool for digital design and prototyping user interfaces (UI) and user experiences (UX). Adobe XD has a wide range of features and applications, making it an essential tool for any UX designer.

Its capabilities include optimized performance, a clean interface, and an expansive set of features. One key feature is the live preview, which allows designers to see changes in real time. Another is the repeat grid, which makes it easy to create complex layouts with multiple elements. Adobe XD also offers support for voice commands and gestures, making it a great option for designing interactive prototypes

This article explores the top Adobe XD uses, features, and applications.

• Top Adobe XD use cases
• 4 Key features of Adobe XD
• Adobe XD pricing
• The best Adobe XD plug-ins

Top Adobe XD use cases

Adobe XD is a versatile tool that can be used for a wide range of design projects. Some popular uses include:

• Create wireframes, templates, and prototypes.  is an excellent tool for quickly creating wireframes and prototypes. It’s easy to create both simple and complex designs, and you can add interactive elements to make your prototypes more realistic. The prototyping tool is excellent for web design mockups, mobile apps, and making real-time updates to your UI/UX project.
• Design user interfaces.  is a great tool for designing user interfaces. It’s vector-based (so you can create scalable designs) and has a wide range of built-in UI elements to use in your designs.
• Create illustrations and graphics.  is also a great tool for creating illustrations and graphic design elements, offering an extensive creative library with vector images, shapes, colors, and fonts. The interactive prototypes update in real time so your workflow is fast and responsive when building mobile apps, doing web design, and more.
• Streamline the UX/UI design process.  makes it easier to duplicate and reuse common elements, create repeating content, and automate the process to save time.
• Enjoy a custom design system. lets you create variations of a single component and maintain spacing between the content of a group and the outer bounds. This is possible because of its padding options and endless customizations using space, fonts, wireframes, colors, and more within the Adobe XD design system.
• Design augmented and virtual reality.  has support for designing augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences. You can add 3D objects to your prototypes and test how they work in an immersive environment, making crafting AR and VR experiences easy even if you’re a beginner.

4 Key features of Adobe XD

Now that we’ve covered some top use cases for Adobe XD, let’s take a look at some key features.

Prototype design tools

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Adobe XD comes with a wide range of interactive prototype design tools. You can easily create wireframes and prototypes with interactive elements.

The software integrates with Creative Cloud, so users can easily access Adobe Photoshop files and other creative assets. Adobe XD also offers various features that make it easy to create complex designs.

For example, the software includes a Photoshop-like layers panel that makes it easy to manipulate images and add effects. In addition, Adobe XD provides a wide range of built-in shapes and icons that can be used to create designs from scratch.

The software also includes an animation tool that makes it easy to add movement to prototypes. And you can test the functionality of your interactive prototypes on real devices using the Adobe XD app.

3D transforms

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Another key feature of Adobe XD is its 3D transforms, which let designers manipulate objects in three dimensions. This makes it easy to create complex designs and improves the flow of information between artboards.

Additionally, Adobe XD supports multiple artboards on Windows, Apple, and Android devices, making it a versatile tool for designing responsive websites and apps. With its 3D transforms and support for multiple artboards, Adobe XD is an essential tool for any designer wanting to create beautiful, responsive designs.

Animations and transition designs

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Adobe XD offers graphic design for UI/UX in motion. Interactive designs take on a new life with animations and engaging transitions.

Use auto-animate to quickly turn static designs into working prototypes that feel real. Create micro-interactions using triggers and actions, such as tap, drag, hover, and more.

Designers can use Adobe XD to easily create fluid animations that bring their designs to life. When you use XD, the software makes it easy to add interactivity to transitions, making them more engaging for users.

Not only are these features useful, but they’re also available with the ease of use that characterizes Adobe products. Adobe is a major software developer, so numerous tutorials are readily available for designers from beginner to expert level.

Repeat grids

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Adobe XD’s repeat grid feature is an essential tool for designers who want to create responsive designs. The feature allows designers to select an element and duplicate it horizontally or vertically.

This is especially useful for creating headers, footers, and other content that needs to be repeated across multiple artboards. With the repeat grid feature, designers can easily create responsive designs that look great on any device.

Adobe XD pricing

Adobe XD is available for free with a seven-day trial. After that, it’s available for purchase as part of a Creative Cloud subscription. The software is also included in some Adobe Creative Suite plans.

Software	Price
Adobe XD – XD on desktop and mobile – 100 GB of cloud storage	Starting at $9.99/mo.
Creative Cloud All Apps (including Adobe XD) – 20+ desktop and mobile apps (including Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign, XD, Premiere Pro, Acrobat Pro, and more) – 100 GB of cloud storage	Starting at $54.99/mo.

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In terms of system requirements, Adobe XD requires at least 4 GB of RAM and 4 GB of storage space. It’s compatible with Windows 7 or later and macOS 10.12 or later.

Adobe XD lets users share directly to Behance and use voice prototyping, Creative Cloud, responsive resize, 3D transforms, and more.

The latest version of Adobe XD is tested with public releases of macOS and Windows. Still, you’ll need to meet some requirements if you plan to work on an iPad or Android phone.

• iOS: Only 64-bit devices are supported.
• Android: Devices with OpenGL ES 2.0 are supported; x86 Android devices are not supported.

The best Adobe XD plug-ins

Adobe XD is a powerful graphic and UI/UX design tool, but it can be even more powerful with the right plug-ins.

• UnDraw. Use open-source illustrations in your XD designs. Also available for Figma. Browse images easily and change colors, size, scale, and more without blur or need for attribution.
• XD Plug-in Manager. Manage and update your XD plug-ins from within the app.
• XD Color Palettes. Easily create and use custom color palettes in your designs.
• PhotoSplash 2. Add realistic and customizable photo effects to your XD designs.
• Mockplus iDoc. Design, prototype, hand off, and manage your projects all in one place. According to their site, “[Mockplus iDoc] greatly facilitates the handoff by taking designs from Photoshop, Sketch, and Adobe XD and exporting them into a format that can easily generate code snippets, style guides, specs, and assets.”
• UI Faces. Quickly and easily find the perfect faces for your design projects. Also available for Figma.
• Color Ranger Pro. Easily create and use custom color palettes in your designs.
• Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries. Provides access to your Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries directly from Adobe XD.

Engage an Adobe XD expert—or become one yourself

Are you an Adobe XD expert looking for work as a UX or UI designer? Ndiwano.com is a great platform to find independent work in the field.

First, create a strong profile. Include your skills, experience, and portfolio in your profile so potential clients can see what you’re capable of accomplishing. Next, search for projects that match your skills and interests. When you find one you’re interested in, click on the “Apply” button.

Next, you’ll be prompted to submit a proposal. Use your proposal to explain why you’re the best candidate for the project and what you’ll bring to it. Once you submit your proposal, the client will review it and decide whether to award you the contract.

Learn more about finding work as a UX design freelancer with our helpful guide.

Are you looking to engage an Adobe XD expert? Ndiwano.com is a great place to start. Simply post your project on Ndiwano.com and qualified independent professionals will apply. You can review their proposals and portfolios and decide who you’d like to work with. Get started today.