The focus on SVG specifically is probably not the most important thing but rather focussing on vector graphics over raster graphics. The reason being for scalability but also resource efficiency.
I recently upgraded to a 3440x1440 display and some of the plugin GUIs are starting to look very dated
I’ve had a whole to think about it and i think the best path for true community collaboration in an online UI design tool. Figma is a prime example which allows you not only export svg but also ccs as far as in aware. The Problem that the free version is limited in terms of sharing and permissions options. Also its now owned by Adobe
There is, however, a free open source alternative, Penpot. Its not quite at the level of Figma but it’s more than enough for this application and it’s very nice to use. It would be very easy to create a shared community library of assets. Essentially the design guide than i long spoke about. People would be able to simply drag and drop in ui elements from the mod library and even contribute their own assets for others to use.
Most importantly you can export whatever Web friendly format is desired
For this, the best sharing would be to publish the file to the community. It would allow anyone to make a copy and remix in anyway they’d like.
Agree that vector rather than svg should be the focus. A lot can be achieved with css.
In a world where I have unlimited time I’ve thought it would be nice create a Figma library that could be shared, used and remixed by people wanting to design, but matched with a code repo containing 1:1 versions for developers to build into plugins.
Theres a lot of problems with using the free tier of Figma. Firstly, you dont get sharing permissions on the free tier and you are limited to 3 files with 3 pages, only 30 days of version history, no private projects, no team libraries no password protection etc
To be honest i can’t imagine this community choosing Figma when there is an open source alternative
I think this is the most important point here. It doesn’t matter if no one will use it.
The other drawbacks you mention make the free version hard to use for companies. But for individuals to generate ideas to share as images on the forum, to collaborate / handoff to a developer, or for others to create files that can be published for anyone with a Figma account to download their own version — I think the free plan would work better than PenPot.
Anything that can help elevate the quality and perceived quality of plugins will help MOD. I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops.
MOD is a company though and ideally they should have a library and all the sharing permissions options. Downloading a copy of a file breaks the link to the original. It’s nicer if you can push updates to components and users can choose if they want to update them.
I personally and professionally use Figma but I just dont think it’s necessary in this case as i dont think it offers something over penpot for this usecase that significantly outweighs the fact that its owned by Adobe which i predict will have many objections in this community
We’ve the mod-sdk to generate MOD UI’s. This uses currently png graphics as assets. A good starting point would be to replace those with SVG graphics in order to re-genrate all the old MOD UI’s with SVG’s.
Moreover having the mod-sdk then running as a online-service, were registered Users could upload assets for UI’s, would negate the focus on a SVG generator tool (use what ever you prefer), and allow to create full UI assets instead only backgrounds and controller images. As for SVG graphics to use as controller, we need a bunch of css as well.
I think the sdk serves a different purpose. Its good for the final assembly/implementation but not for designing and collaborating in designs. It would be good if assets are available in the sdk and also in the design library of a UI design tool like penpot so that if somebody wants to try something new they can mock up something with the same assets that are in the sdk, they can remix the assets, they can suggest improvements to the assets, design variations of assets and design new assets all from one place without having to hunt through repositories for the correct files to download and making copies of them etc
Indeed it woukd be great to update the sdk assets though
For creating some images, or stick together some mock-ups, yes. But a big part of creating “real” UI’s needs to be done in css/html and maybe java script when output ports been involved. That can’t be done with PenPot or any other SVG editor.
The sdk does a good job by generate a first setup of those which then could easily be edited. Results could be viewed (and used in dry mode) in realtime. So you get a good feel for how your mockup works in real.
A updated sdk with SVG graphics would be a real step to forwarding the “new” direction of MOD UI’s to developers.
Also, this is something were interested designers could directly start with (fork the mod-sdk,replace png’s with SVG’s, edit the needed css/html files and send a pull request)
But, when there is the impression that such a pull request wouldn’t be accepted, no one will do it.
I’m trying to get the mod-sdk running so I can do some of these. If anyone has any ideas of how to get it running on MacOS I’ve created Modsdk on macOS
I’ve managed to get it up and running and made my first PR. Feedback welcome.
The way the mod-sdk is set up it lends itself well to designers creating plugin ‘systems’. Collections of bodies / knobs / layouts for developers to use.
Effort would be needed to turn any visuals into working code, and it looks like full sets — rather than a couple of knobs or bodies — would be needed to be useful in the sdk.
The other workflow of a designer(s) pairing with a developer(s) to make a single plug-in is likely more accessible in the short term.
Here are some screenshots of the mod-sdk for others who are interested:
