Adobe today announced that it will be offering its increasingly popular XD design software for free. The new Starter plan is meant to get users familiar with the software before buying Creative Cloud.
Today, Adobe announced a number of improvements to its XD CC design software, not the least of which is that you can now get it for free. The new Adobe XD CC Starter plan offers full access to XD, including Typekit and CC libraries.
Ultimately, the company wants designers to get familiar with the new software, and purchase a Creative Cloud subscription in the long run. Clearly, it’s putting some significant effort into XD, with monthly feature updates.
Some of the improvements in this month’s update include improved integration with Photoshop and Sketch. Now, a user can easily drag and drop a PSD file right on top of the XD icon and start working with it. You’ll also now be able to password protect your design specs, which will be particularly useful for security when you’re working with a team.
Other features have to do with making your work a bit easier. Designers can now drag and drop symbols over another one, updating all copies of that symbol. You can also now paste to multiple artboards, saving even more time.
Adobe also announced the Adobe Fund for Design. The $10 million fund is meant to assist designers and developers with third-party tools and services through a series of grants and investments.
The Adobe XD Starter plan is available beginning today, and if you need access to the full range of Creative Cloud benefits, like 100GB of cloud storage instead of the 2GB free tier, Adobe does offer a single-app plan for $9.99 per month.
