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AMA: Framer Team on the all-new Framer and Auto-Code

over 7 years ago from Brittany Gregory, Content Strategist at Framer

  • Raphael Lopes, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    Hi guys, first of all thank you for making Framer a better tool every day.

    1. Although the new "Auto-Code" has greatly facilitated the creation of prototypes, I still see many designers give up Framer because of CoffeScript. For many designers, this is a completely new universe (code) and therefore most often causes fear. I wonder if you have something extra in mind (future updates) for this barrier will become increasingly simple for designers who don't have any code skills.

    2. As I said above, I still see many designers afraid to try Framer because of code. This is the image that was created (Framer = very difficult because of the code). Of course it is not, but many designers still think that way. So, it would be great if, somehow, you try to create small video tutorials to learn tips and tricks on Framer, from basic to advanced. I know there are many good courses around the Web, but the best are usually paid. And it ends up creating an extra barrier for many people who want to learn, since the Framer is not free. And I know that the documentation on Framer website is really great (thanks for that!), but I still see many designers completely lost and disoriented to have to read this type of document (this is not common for many designers). So I think some kind of tutorial (videos or something) done regularly help many designers to lose your fear and give a chance to Framer.

    Thank you and congrats, guys!

    0 points
    • Rhys MerrittRhys Merritt, over 7 years ago

      I feel like this question sort of misses the idea of Framer.. Code is what makes Framer so much more powerful than any other prototyping tool. Of course it would be great to have something more 'user-friendly' so that many other designers get into using Framer, but in doing so they would sacrifice so much of the power that using code gives.

      I feel like Framer shouldn't be apologetic about the learning curve for designers who are 'afraid of code'... They seem to be going above and beyond to help facilitate this by having Auto-Code, as well as Smart Autocomplete.

      Designers who are afraid of code will eventually come to see how achievable using Framer is, so I hope that the guys at Framer do not sacrifice the power of code simply to make it a bit easier for designers to learn how to use it.

      1 point
      • Raphael Lopes, over 7 years ago

        I partially agree with you. One of the reasons that Framer is so powerful is because of the code, and sacrifice this feature for people who don't want to learn how to code can harm the software. In this point, I agree with you.

        But as we saw with Auto-Code, maybe the Framer team are thinking about other things (like Auto-Code) that might be useful for more designers who don't know how to code feel more confident with the Framer without sacrifice the power of the software, this is my point.

        I don't think you have to sacrifice advanced users to help new users learn about your software. And it would be great if more designers lost your fears with a software that is easy to introduce in a new universe like code, maybe they will feel more confident.

        0 points
    • Brittany GregoryBrittany Gregory, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

      Hey Raphael, as someone who was introduced to Framer with almost no experience with code or programming, I totally get the concern about learning CoffeeScript. Continuing to remove barriers to getting started in Framer is a major goal of ours. Auto-Code was a first step, but we will be continuing to work toward this in future updates. We will, however, always be big believers in code over here. The good news is that with a little time, Framer is not all that hard to learn...I’m living proof :)

      Regarding your question about adding tutorials and tips and tricks on Framer, this is in the works! We’re hoping provide you guys some really helpful content in the near future. Stay tuned! Are there any tutorials that you find particularly helpful, from other companies or products?

      3 points
      • Raphael Lopes, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

        Hi Brittany, it would be fantastic if I could watch some short and focused videos like this: http://principleformac.com/tutorial.html and this: http://www.pixate.com/education/video-tutorials/.

        The Examples page that exists in the Framer website is very good, but if you don't have experience with code, you'll need to analyze code by code in order to understand and learn how to replicate that example in their own work. Almost always (in more complicated examples) this work takes a very long time and sometimes it's quite complicated.

        IMHO, small and focused videos in small little tips (from basic to advanced) would make me move faster and get more out of Framer! :)

        0 points