Hi, My name is Andy Leverenz. I design, code, and am an author of things. Check out my agency called Couple of Creatives (https://coupleofcreatives.com) and my blog Web-Crunch (https://web-crunch.com)🤘🏻

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Plugins are everywhere. Whether you use a plugin-centric platform like WordPress or your design tool of choice (Sketch or Photoshop) you have many plugins at your fingertips. Have a problem? There's a plugin for that. This sounds familar doesn't it...

What's the issue?

Plugins are made to make our lives easier and workflows faster. They do this well and often in a few clicks which is fantastic in theory. The problem lies in authenticity. Creating pre-generated code, design elements, patterns, websites, etc… creates a lot of duplication in the public space. How many websites, themes, dribbble shots, logos and more are truly unique anymore? To me, it seems like that number is falling rapidly due to automation and plugins.

Plugins used in design applications

Sketch is a big inspiration for this writing. Everyday I see a new plugin published to do something automatically for the designer it's targeted. When did automatic design become a good thing? Maybe I'm becoming a dinosaur...

I'm excited about plugins that get released as much as everyone else in the Sketch community, but what I'm finding is that the developers' of such plugins are looking for ways to automate what a designer is suppose to think through on his/her own opinion rather than their own. Whether the automated pattern they've envoked is a good one or not, having a plugin control your design's destiny is pretty darn scary to me. Not to mention boring and predictable.

My main concern is that Sketch will turn into a Web/UI builder rather than an actual tool used to create unique designs. Is this automated process the future? It seems that way with services like Squarespace, Wix, or Divi. I'm concerned for designers who adhere to these automated principles. Yes, there are many time-saving benefits but is it truly worth the time saved to create the same design over and over again? I'm not so sure.

💻 Previously published at: https://web-crunch.com/the-problem-with-plugins/

💻 Check out the blog: https://web-crunch.com

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