Be it a startup or a well-established business, there is hardly any way to successfully launch the product without any handoffs. Likewise, one handoff that hampers the growth of businesses is the design to development stage. 

This happens to be the case with the majority of businesses because the design and development perform entirely different tasks while working together on a project. The designers usually focus on tasks such as user interface, user interface, visuals, or graphics, whereas developers are more concerned about the functional aspects of the business. 

The handoff between the designers and developers might seem easy initially but is not. Fortunately, you can make it seem easy by incorporating some of the best tools for both the designers and developers. 

Let us learn about the best tools for making the handoffs between the designers and developers go smoothly in the post mentioned below. 

About Design Handoff

When the requirements have been met and prototypes have been tested, it is termed design handoff. Once everything is done, the design is given to the developers for doing the coding. But the designers and developers fail to understand each other because both are engaged in completely different tasks.

Ever wondered the reason for the same? It is none other than a lack of understanding on both parts. Consequently, the handoff is when designers hand off the tasks to the developers. 

Causes Behind Handoff Failure 

Before moving on to resolving the developer designer handoff failure, it is crucial to learn about the causes of these. Here’s an overview of some of the causes which lead to the failure of developer and designer handoff. 

Bad Communication 

The foremost reason resulting in the handoff failure is the bad communication between the developer and designer. Be it personal or professional, great communication is the key. It is the communication breakdowns that result in several kinds of misunderstandings. 

In addition to this, there are numerous problems caused by bad designer-developer communication which includes time-consuming QA issues, and unnecessary feedback between designers and developers. 

No Design System 

Lacking a design system is just another reason for the handoff failure between a designer and developer. The majority of the companies don’t employ people to focus on design systems but hardly do they realize that design systems are an investment. 

The designers tend to have unclear parameters without the design system which in turn hampers their work. This in turn leads to inconsistencies leading to a bad user experience and frustration for the developers. 

The Distinction Between Designer and Developer 

The next major reason for handoff failure is the distinction between the designer and developer. Both the designers and developers come from entirely different backgrounds and even have different skill sets. 

Not only this, but both of them also face different challenges. Consequently having a team of designers and developers with no interest in each other’s craft will only create a knowledge gap leading to friction. 

Best Design Handoff Tools 

It is none other than the design handoff tools which make it super easy for the designers and developers to bridge the gap between them. Let’s check out some of the best tools in the sections mentioned below. 

Mockplus Cloud 

The foremost design handoff tool is none other than the mockplus cloud. With this tool, the designers can prototype, collaborate, and hand off designs in one place. From the tools such as Sketch, Figma, photoshop, and adobe xd, the designers can easily import wireframes and hi-fi prototypes. 

The best part about this tool is that the developers can also join with a link and impact the designs along with viewing the coding snippets and downloading assets with simple clicks. Some of the key features of the mockplus cloud include: 

Commenting, reviewing, and iterating designs with simple clicks. 

Download the design specs, assets, and code snippets with one click. 

Importing designs from sketch, photoshop, and Figma. 

Connecting the design and engineering slowly. 

Zeplin 

Zeplin is another best tool for the designer-developer handoff. The tool is also integrated with a sketch, adobe xd, and Photoshop. With this, it becomes easy to translate the designs into swift and CSS. above all, there is also a provision to export the styles of each layer and each asset. 

Some of the key features of zeplin include: 

 

  • It supports different platforms such as android and the web. 
  • Generate HEX and RGB for all the designs. 
  • The tool also provides buttons, icons, and layers with the assets marked. 

Marvel 

The next best designer developer handoff tool is a marvel. One significant thing for which marvel is widely known is its ultra-friendly user interface. One does not need high knowledge of the tool as the tool is pretty easy to master. 

The tool can assist you in syncing different interactions with ease and works great when combined with a sketch. One should try to marvel if the sketch is your screen design tool. Otherwise, the tool might not be that valuable for you. Some of the key features of marvel include: 

 

  • Syncing with the latest design changes
  • Exporting code as swift, CSS, and android XML. 

Invision 

Another most popular prototyping tool is none other than invision. The tool supports plenty of plugins and integrations. In addition to this, the invision tool also has sketch and photoshop which in turn allows the users to sync the designs into invision. 

In addition to this, the developers can also inspect and generate real codes from them. Let’s know some of the key features of the invision tool: 

 

  • Turns design into code with developer-ready specs
  • Integrate with confluence, Trello, and storybook. 
  • Personalize specs for development free of any interruption. 

Figma 

As far as designing, prototyping, and collaboration, Figma is a famous platform. Its practical feature is intended for the developers as it is a one-stop platform. The developers can easily navigate the file’s pages and frames with view-only permission. 

Access to all the exportable resources such as images and styles can also be shared. Its side-by-side comparison feature also allows the developers to compare two windows with a simple click. 

Some key features of Figma include: 

 

  • Sending a link to the prototype or embedding it in the preferred tool. 
  • Marking settings for the different platforms. 
  • Viewing the design properties

Adobe XD 

Adobe XD is another popular platform for collaboration, prototyping, and wireframing. The tool also supports proper design handoff features which can be used by the developers to create code from design. 

The features such as triggers, preview, overlay support, and interactions are supported by this platform. The tool gives you the provision to work effortlessly with Jira, Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zeplin, and many more to go. 

Other key features of the adobe XD include: 

 

  • Getting direct feedback from the stakeholders
  • Creating one source of truth
  • Creating custom character styles for coding 
  • Sending snippets to developers

Sympli

Sympli has a Gitt-based app known as versions and is integrated with a sketch, photoshop, and adobe XD. At present, this useful application is only available for macOS. Sympli has a user-friendly interface with advanced features to assist the developers. 

The ones indulged in the processes can streamline their workflow with Azure boards, Microsoft Teams, and Slack. The key features of sympli includes: 

 

  • Integrating with project management and development tools. 
  • Reviewing and collaborating comments. 
  • Turn other tools such as sketch, and Figma into assets and specs. 

Final Words

By using the tools mentioned above and overcoming the challenges faced by the designer-developer, businesses can witness massive benefits from them. The platform tools are there to support the businesses and the handoff features.