I know that there’s a lot of focus placed on being 1:1 competitive with Figma, but I think there’s something possibly being overlooked.
In our work, prototyping and testing internal enterprise software, Figma regularly gets bogged representing all the different interactions, but Axure handles interaction better
The main difference is that Figma’s great for making visual representations. If I’m trying to show multiple branches of the same interaction, with space for users to poke around, Figma’s ‘make a page for each step’ really struggles with anything non-linear. That greatly limits its usefulness.
Now, if I can set a variable that lets me change the states of the elements on the page based on interaction? Be able to take those selections and pass them to the next page to shape what’s active or not? That’s a game-changer.
I really miss the features that are already present in the figma competitor, such as SAVE GRIDS, variables and the way frames are created (because in penpot to access sizes for Instagram you have to create any screen beforehand for this option to appear later, In figma, just select the tool and the options all appear in the panel on the right).
I heard about improving the Viewport (but I haven’t tested that part).
I REALLY WANT TO WORK WITH PENPOT AND CREATE CONTENT ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL but unfortunately until they add these features that figma already has, there is no way for me to migrate because my UI DESIGN work requires these functions a lot.
According to the figma team’s response, they are not motivated to be creating for the LINUX public:
better tools to manipulate vector images (illustrator is king on this). Adding waves, changing styles of the strokes, individual weight for strokes.
individual and additive stroke manipulation (each stroke to have their own setting: color, weight, style)
effects are nice but we are missing some very useful ones like: outline, overlapping, inner glow, putter glow. You could argue you can do this with the current ones but that’s a workaround…
The problem with penpot is that in order to import the font, we have to enter the fonts individually into the application, while in similar software, all the user’s fonts are entered into the application from the user’s computer, and this feature gives a freer space to the designer.
Separate client is needed first and foremost so that it’s hotkeys won’t interfere with the browser hotkeys. And preferably not wrapped into an Electron like Figma, so it won’t be plagued by 2GB per tab limit, which is quickly reached if you do anything serious. And, as a sidenote, never in my life I’ve seen other designers working in Figma from the browser tab.
Hi, your work is phenomenal and the fact that it’s open source makes the world more colorful!
I’m not a ux/ui designer specifically, but lately, as a hobby, I’ve found myself designing some interfaces, and Penpot has been my first choice.
There are a couple of things that could significantly improve the Penpot experience:
a greater ability to manipulate vectors. I am thinking for example of rounded corners (no “corner radius”), the possibility of modifying the corner radius of individual corners in complex shapes or other advanced modifications present in dedicated software such as Inkscape. I’m ignorant of programming, but wouldn’t it be possible to inject some of the Inkscape code, just enough to make the vector manipulation more advanced?
the management of variable fonts
possibility of manipulating the graphics directly from the code (e.g. CSS filter (CSS in general!), states etc…)
"Hey Penpot team, I’m really rooting for you guys! As someone who wants to switch from Figma and make the move to Penpot, I have to be honest - there are a few things holding me back. I’ve noticed some small hiccups that are adding up, like scrollable interactions being missing, and it’s making it tricky to use your tools as seamlessly as I’d like.
Specifically, I’m thinking of features like:
Scrollable interactions that let me fix elements in place or create buttons that scroll to specific points
Better tool interaction, where I can adjust things like rounded edges on a rectangle without having to write numbers. Maybe scrolling in the context box or using a gizmo on the element to see the change dynamically
If you could prioritize these features, it would be amazing! With these additions, I think everyone would have no excuses left to hold them back from giving Penpot a try.
I’m excited to see where your project goes, and I hope you’ll consider my feedback. Keep up the great work!"
So guys and girls. I promote Penpot with every opportunity that I have. Here is my MVP list of improvements which are critical for adoption from users coming out of Figma land.
Variants.
Nested components.
Styles.
Everything that I have in CSS available. Example: Control of rectangle stroke similar to CSS borders.
Linking to internal files. This is critical due to slow performance. If people can split their files and link between them, it will be wonderful.
The initiative from Tokens Studio for design token driven process is a glimpse of the future of design.
This will drive attention towards Penpot immensely.
There is a demand for a Desktop app. People have the logical expectation of a local application which is easy to install. They don’t care for Docker Desktop installation and configuration. I get it, your main audience is developers and I love Flexbox and CSS Grid implementation. But let’s be real. Every product design job requires Figma in the description. Even developers have to accept the requirement.
To be a valuable alternative, you have to push aside some “philosophical” limitations and give the users what they want. If this means to scale your web application, you can charge money for hosting and cloud services (something like Lunacy).
First of all: flexbox and css grid is great! I not only design websites, but also work with html and css and I think it is important to design with the mindset of a developer and flexbox and css grid helps a lot with that.
Regarding the code output of Penpot, I don’t understand why so much (extra?) code is generated.
Here is an example of just a button: in my opinion this would only be a button element with 1 text element in it. Why all that extra code?
Another example: I create a standard grid. Why are the classes .shape and .frame attached to it? And where can I find the properties of those classes?
And an extra number is assigned to the .bloggrid class (.bloggrid-e561e6f10a46). I understand that this is to prevent overrides, but it would be nice if I could change this class name in Penpot myself, just like I would like to be able to change the html in Penpot. Actually we should have a combination between Codepen and Penpot
Situation
Been delving into Penpot for a day, looking to transition over from Figma.
Experience
Generally a very positive experience! Certainly a bit of a learning curve, and it’s early to pass any meaningful judgement.
Challenges
Why aren’t text boxes set to auto height by default? This makes resizing flex containers less intuitive and more fiddly.
Why doesn’t Penpot override browser shortcuts like CMD/CTRL+R? (for example to rename as Figma does) This seems like a wasted opportunity, and has potential to undo recent changes or otherwise lose work.
Concerns / Questions
None yet, the resources and guides seem pretty good!
