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Flutter vs React Native React Native by Facebook and Flutter by Google – two hot cross-platform app development technologies creating a buzz. during this post, we'll compare both of them intimately from a developer’s perspective. Due to the growing popularity of mobile apps, almost every company needs a mobile app or apps to stay competitive within the market. And what's more, companies are trying to find an choice to build mobile apps, especially for iOS and Android, with faster speed and fewer resources.  Apple and Google have provided native tools and technologies to create apps. iOS app developers can build apps using Xcode and Swift, while Android developers use Android Studio and Kotlin/Java. However, this needs engineers to find out two completely different sets of technologies. As a result, companies have began to adopt cross-platform solutions over the native solutions to create apps for both iOS and Android faster employing a single language. What’s Flutter and React Native? React Native may be a project started by Facebook internally that they open-sourced in 2015. On the opposite side is Flutter, a project started by Google which they need been heavily promoting since I/O 2017. Both of those technologies help app developers build cross-platform apps faster by employing a single programing language . React Native is already a mature tool and features a huge community, but Flutter also started seeing huge adoption rates since 2017. during this post, we'll compare each of them using ten criteria: Programming language Technical architecture Installation Setup and project configuration UI components and development API Developer productivity Community support Testing support Build & release automation support DevOps and CI/CD support Now that we've defined all our criteria, let’s start exploring each of them intimately . Programming Language The key advantage of employing a cross-platform mobile app development technology is that the ability to use one programing language to develop apps for both iOS and Android. React Native — JavaScript React Native uses JavaScript to create cross-platform apps. JavaScript may be a very fashionable language within the web community at the instant . it's commonly used with React and other popular JavaScript frameworks. because of React Native, web developers can build mobile apps with a touch little bit of training. With this in mind, companies adopted React Native as a no brainer . JavaScript may be a dynamically typed language and anything are often through with JavaScript, which is sweet and bad at an equivalent time. Flutter — Dart Flutter uses Dart programing language which was introduced by Google in 2011 and is never employed by developers. Dart syntax is straightforward to know for JavaScript or Java developers because it supports most of the object-oriented concepts. It’s easy to urge started with Dart as there's great and easy-to-follow documentation available on the official Dart site here. Technical Architecture When choosing a cross-platform mobile app development framework, it’s essential to think about its technical architecture. By knowing the internals of the framework, we will make an informed decision and choose the one that's better for our project. React Native — Flux React Native architecture heavily relies on JS runtime environment architecture, also referred to as JavaScript bridge. The JavaScript code is compiled into native code at runtime. React Native uses the Flux architecture from Facebook. there's an in depth article on the core architecture of React Native here. In short, React Native uses the JavaScript bridge to speak with the native modules. Flutter — Skia Flutter uses the Dart framework which has most of the components inbuilt so it’s bigger in size and sometimes doesn't require the bridge to speak with the native modules. Dart has numerous frameworks, like Material Design and Cupertino, packed inside which give all the specified technologies needed to develop mobile apps. The Dart framework uses Skia C++ engine which has all the protocols, compositions and channels. The architecture of the Flutter engine is explained intimately in Github Wiki here. In short, Flutter has everything needed for app development within the Flutter engine itself. Installation The installation method should be straightforward without having too many complicated steps in order that it might be easily learned by developers that are just starting with it. React Native — NPM The React Native framework are often installed using the Node Package Manager (NPM). For developers that have a JavaScript background, installation of React Native is straightforward , whereas other developers would wish to find out the node package manager. The node package manager can install the packages locally or globally. The developers will got to understand where precisely the binary is found . Whilst installing React Native on macOS, we'd like to possess the HomeBrew package manager also . Flutter — Binary Download from Source Flutter are often installed by downloading the binary for a selected platform from Github. within the case of macOS, we've to download the flutter.zip file and add it as a PATH variable. Flutter should improve the installation method by supporting package managers like Homebrew, MacPorts, YUM, APT, etc in order that users wouldn’t got to perform these extra steps during installation. Setup and Project Configuration The process of fixing the developer machine to use the new framework takes time. It requires many configuration of software installations. The technology should have proper documentation to urge users up and running. React Native The getting started guide of the React Native project assumes that the developer already has all the specified setup for developing for iOS and Android. there's little info on the Xcode instruction tools but it won’t be enough to urge going. The documentation directly jumps to the step of making a replacement project. Flutter The getting started guide for Flutter has detailed information on IDE setup and platform setup for both iOS and Android. you'll read all the specified setup details on Flutter install for macOS here. On top of this, Flutter features a CLI tool called flutter doctor which may guide developers through the setup. It inspects which tools are installed on the local machine and which tools got to be configured. Once the flutter doctor command is happy, we will keep it up with creating a replacement Flutter app. there's a separate page on the way to configure the editors to urge going with Flutter. Developer Productivity Developer productivity is that the key to putting together apps faster. during this regard, it’s vital to be ready to specialise in app development with none quite wait or distraction. React Native If the developer is skilled in JavaScript, then it’s fairly easy to use those skills for cross-platform app development. React Native features a hot reload feature which saves tons of developer time while testing the changes within the UI. In terms of IDE support, developers are liberal to use any text editor or IDE of their choice. Flutter Flutter also features a hot reload feature and it’s very easy to urge started with the demo app. However, because the complexity of apps grows, developers would wish to find out and adopt the new Flutter concepts. additionally , Dart isn't a standard programing language and there's a scarcity of support for it in many IDEs and text editors. React Native React Native launched in 2015 and has gained in popularity ever since. there's a community of React Native developers on GitHub and much of meetups and conferences round the world. one among the foremost recent conferences on React Native was React Native EU held in Poland, but there are meetups happening in almost every major city within the world. Flutter Flutter has been around for a short time but it gained tons of attention when Google promoted it within the Google I/O conference in 2017. The Flutter community is growing rapidly lately , meetups and conferences are happening online. the most important event coming are going to be Flutter sleep in December. In short, the Flutter community is growing rapidly; yet, there are still not enough resources for developers to unravel common issues. Testing Support Writing tests may be a good way to urge quick feedback on the code. there's always a testing framework related to every mature technology to permit developers to make unit, integration and UI tests for the apps. React Native React Native may be a JavaScript framework and there are a couple of unit level testing frameworks available in JavaScript. The tools like Jest are often used for snapshot testing. However, when it involves integration or UI level testing, there's no official support from React Native. There are third-party tools like Appium and Detox which will be used for testing React Native apps but they're not officially supported. Flutter Flutter provides an upscale set of testing features to check apps at unit, widget and integration level. Flutter has great documentation on testing Flutter apps here, you'll also read the Nevercode blog on testing Flutter apps for detailed information on how Flutter apps are often tested. Flutter features a cool widget testing feature where we will create widget tests to check the UI and run them at the speed of unit tests. Build & Release Automation Support Releasing mobile apps to the App Store or Play Store may be a painful process. It involves the complex task of code signing all another application setup. When it involves cross-platform mobile app development, it gets even trickier. React Native The React Native official documentation doesn’t have any automated steps to deploy the iOS apps to App Store. However, it provides a manual process for deploying the app from Xcode. there's a piece of writing on the way to deploy React Native apps to App Store here but the whole process looks manual. However, we will use third-party tools like fastlane to deploy iOS and Android apps written with React Native. the method of using fastlane to ship React Native apps is described during this article. this suggests that React Native has got to believe third-party libraries for build and release automation. Flutter Flutter features a strong instruction interface. we will create a binary of the app by using the instruction tools and following the instructions in Flutter documentation for building and releasing Android and iOS apps. On top of this, Flutter has officially documented the deployment process with fastlane here. DevOps and CI/CD Support Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery practices are essential for any app so as to urge continuous feedback and avoid releasing buggy code. React Native React Native doesn’t have any official documentation on fixing CI/CD. However, there are some articles which describe CI/CD for React Native apps. there's a piece of writing which explains the method of fixing CI/CD for React Native apps with Nevercode. Flutter Flutter features a section on Continuous Integration and Testing which incorporates links to external sources. However, Flutter’s rich instruction interface allows us to line up CI/CD easily. Nevercode has inbuilt support for CI/CD for Flutter apps. The detailed blog post explaining the CI/CD process of Nevercode are often found here.  

Your portfolio is your key to leaving a lasting impression while applying for a job in the cutthroat area of UI/UX design. It's not only about showing off your design prowess; it's also about sharing the narrative of your design process, exhibiting your ability to solve problems, and revealing your thought process. The difference between getting your ideal job and being passed over for another applicant can be determined by the quality of your portfolio. In this tutorial, we'll go over useful advice and analysis from specialists in the field to help you create a distinctive UI/UX portfolio. 1. Understand the Role of Your Portfolio Your portfolio serves as more than simply a compilation of your design work; it also serves as a statement of your personal brand and the way you tackle design problems. A robust portfolio demonstrates: The way you understand. the development of your designs. How you address user issues. Employers want to know how a UI/UX designer thinks and responds to user demands, not just how well a design looks. Additionally, they want to see that you can work with stakeholders, convey your design choices clearly, and provide user-centered solutions. 2. Focus on the Process, Not Just the Final Product Highlighting your creative process is just as vital as exhibiting your finished designs. This comprises: Investigate: How did you comprehend the issue? Did you perform competitive analysis, surveys, or user interviews? Ideation: What design alternatives did you take into account, and what factors influenced your ultimate decision? At this point, mood boards, wireframes, and sketches can all be helpful. Testing and Prototyping: How were your prototypes constructed and tested? Have you tested for usability? How did you refine your design and what input did you get? 3. Choose Quality Over Quantity The finest portfolios are targeted and carefully chosen, but it's easy to get carried away and include every design you've ever worked on. Select a few excellent items that best demonstrate your versatility, problem-solving abilities, and design philosophy. Think about the following: Diversity: Incorporate a range of projects, including dashboard designs, web and mobile applications, and even intricate enterprise solutions. Demonstrate your ability to create for many situations. Impact: Emphasize initiatives that significantly impacted users or businesses or produced quantifiable results. Did your design result in higher conversion rates or more user engagement? Provide measurements to support your findings if at all possible. Relevance: Adapt your portfolio to the kind of position you're seeking. For instance, give priority to showing your mobile projects if you're searching for a position that focuses on mobile design. 4. Tell the Story of Each Project You should have a narrative for every project in your portfolio. Context, difficulties, your method, and the outcomes must all be included. To make your case studies easier to understand, think about organizing them in a format such as: Issue: What was the difficult part of the design?  Solution: Explain your methodology, covering the phases of ideation, design, testing, and research. Result: What was the outcome? Add any quantifiable effects. If you lack quantitative data, concentrate on qualitative input from stakeholders or user reviews. Make careful to describe the rationale behind your design choices as well as how user research and testing influenced them. This demonstrates your capacity to defend your decisions and match user requirements and corporate objectives with your designs. 5. Showcase a Range of Skills A competent UI/UX designer is adaptable. Aim to demonstrate a range of abilities in your portfolio, including both UI design and UX research and strategy. The following abilities should be emphasized: Wireframing and prototyping: Make interactive prototypes and wireframes using programs like Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or Axure. User Research: Use usability testing, interviews, or surveys to demonstrate your proficiency in user research. Talk about the research's findings and how they influenced your design choices. UI Design: Demonstrate your proficiency in designing clear, eye-catching user interfaces.  Information Architecture: Show that you know how to arrange features and content so that they are clear and simple to use. Interaction Design: Display your ability to create animations, transitions, and interactive features that enhance the user experience. 6. Show Your Range, But Stay Focused You could focus on usability testing, visual design, interaction design, or user research as a UI/UX designer. In addition to demonstrating adaptability in various design process areas, it's critical to highlight your distinctive qualities and how they relate to the position you're seeking. Adapting Your Portfolio to Various Positions: Showcase your visual design abilities, including color theory, typography, layout, and responsive design, if you're applying for a position that focuses on the user interface. Showcase your wireframes, user flows, usability testing, and user research if you're applying for a UX-focused job. Emphasize your abilities to perform both if you're applying for a full-stack design position (UI + UX). Demonstrate how you transition between the design and research stages with ease.   Pro Tip: Tailor your portfolio to particular positions. Modify your portfolio to emphasize the abilities most pertinent to each position if you're applying to several organizations with varying requirements. 7. Present Your Work in a Clean, Organized Way The excellence of your work may be overshadowed by a disorganized or cluttered portfolio. Make sure the layout of your portfolio is clear, simple to use, and intuitive. Top Techniques for Creating a Portfolio: Clear Navigation: Use a straightforward, user-friendly menu or project classification to make it easier for recruiters to look through your work. Whitespace: Avoid packing your pages with information. To give each project breathing room and make your designs stand out, use whitespace. Mobile Responsiveness: All devices should be able to view your portfolio. To make sure it's responsive, test it on various screen sizes. Consistent Design: Make use of a color palette, font, and layout that are all in line with your personal brand. Your portfolio's visual layout can be used as an illustration of your work. Make sure your portfolio demonstrates your unique design sensibility if you're applying for UI/UX positions. 8. Include Personal Projects or Side Projects Personal or side projects can be an excellent approach to showcase your abilities and enthusiasm for design if you're new to the field or don't have many client-based projects. These could be speculative designs for unrealized products, redesigns of already-existing apps, or solutions to particular user issues. Personal Initiatives to Incorporate: Rebranding or redesigning apps: Choose a website or app and demonstrate how you would make it better. Add your final design, wireframes, and research. Fictional Projects: If a particular industry piques your attention, develop fictitious goods or redesigns for that field. Projects involving collaboration: Assist developers, product managers, or other designers. This demonstrates your ease of working with cross-functional teams. Presenting these projects with the same degree of detail as client work is important. To demonstrate your abilities, treat them as real-world situations. 9. Include Your Resume and About Me Section Provide a CV or a succinct "About Me" section where you can describe yourself in addition to your design work. Your background, abilities, and personality are conveyed to prospective employers in this section. Advice for the "About Me" or Resume Section: Professional Experience: Provide an overview of your professional history, mentioning positions, organizations, and the kinds of tasks you performed. Skills: Enumerate your technical abilities, including your knowledge of design principles and your proficiency with design tools like Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD as well as prototype tools like InVision and Framer. Soft Skills: Emphasize the problem-solving, teamwork, and communication abilities that are essential for UI/UX designers to succeed. Design Philosophy: Give a brief explanation of your approach or design philosophy. This helps prospective employers learn more about your working style. This is your opportunity to establish a human connection, so keep the tone professional yet personable. 10. Showcase Testimonials or References Include endorsements from coworkers, supervisors, or clients who can attest to your abilities and work ethic, if at all possible. Positive testimonials from previous coworkers might help you  stand out from the competition and demonstrate your dependability and effectiveness as a team player. Location of Testimonials: From Stakeholders or Clients: Get feedback from clients or freelancers you have worked with. From Mentors or Colleagues: If you have worked with other developers or designers, ask them to explain how you contributed to the project. From Supervisors: Supervisors are frequently able to provide excellent comments on your work if you have experience working in a larger team or at a design agency. Even a few succinct statements or testimonials can give your portfolio legitimacy. 11. Keep Learning and Iterate As the design field is constantly changing, so should your portfolio. Update your portfolio frequently with new projects and work, and continue to improve it in response to criticism from hiring managers, mentors, and peers. How to Maintain a Current Portfolio: Update Case Studies: Include a thorough case study with every new project you finish for your portfolio. Request Feedback: Ask hiring managers, mentors, or peers to evaluate your portfolio on a regular basis and offer comments. Keep Up to Date: Continue to pick up new skills, methods, and market trends. Put everything you've learned into your portfolio to demonstrate your ongoing development. 12. Make It Easy to Contact You Make it simple for prospective clients or employers to contact you. Your portfolio should prominently display your contact details. You should also think about including connections to your LinkedIn profile and other professional networks. Top Tips for Contact Information: Provide an email address or a contact form so that people can get in touch with you. If you use GitHub, Dribbble, Behance, or LinkedIn professionally, include links to those sites. Include links to your blog and any active participation in design communities (such as Designer Hangout or UX Design Slack groups). 13. Optimize for Speed and Performance Hiring managers or recruiters may have a bad impression of a portfolio with poor loading times. Make sure your portfolio loads quickly, particularly if it contains high-resolution photos or animations. Tips for Performing Your Portfolio: Compress photos: Reduce file sizes without compromising quality by optimizing photos. Reduce Code: Make sure your custom HTML, CSS, or JavaScript is effective. Utilize resources such as Google PageSpeed Insights to test load times. 14. Focus on a Strong Narrative A compelling portfolio tells a story rather than just listing projects. Each project you present should have a backstory. What distinguishes you from other designers is this storytelling. Showing off a stunning design is insufficient; you also need to describe how you came up with it. A strong narrative explains your design process, demonstrates your ability to solve problems, and highlights your development as a designer. Advice for Crafting Your Story: Maintain coherence: Your portfolio should organically transition between projects. Your case studies should be systematically arranged and presented to provide a coherent narrative about your skills and experiences. Demonstrate growth: Don't merely showcase the finished product; instead, demonstrate how your abilities have changed over time. If your earlier work demonstrates your development as a designer, include it and discuss the lessons you've learned since. Don't tell recruiters what they want to hear; instead, be genuine. Talk openly about your difficulties and experiences. Being genuine builds trust, and hiring managers will value your candor. 15. Showcase a Diverse Range of Projects Designers in the UI/UX area frequently work on a range of projects that include different user groups, industries, and design requirements. The variety of projects you have worked on, whether in terms of design types (web, mobile, product design) or industries (e-commerce, health tech, fintech, etc.), should be reflected in your portfolio. Project Types to Incorporate: Client Work: Highlight any prior experience you have working with clients, whether as an internal or freelancer. Add case studies that illustrate your capacity to collaborate with customers, comprehend their issues, and provide solutions. Personal Projects: Personal projects can be a fantastic method to demonstrate initiative and creativity if you're just starting out in your profession and don't have any client work. These could be projects completed for fun, personal app concepts, or redesigns of already-existing websites or applications. Collaborative Projects: Provide examples of your work alongside other designers or in a collaborative setting if applicable. In the majority of design professions, collaborative projects show that you are a team player and at ease working with others. Industry-Specific Projects: Display projects associated with the industry you choose to specialize in. Consider redesigning a health app or website, for instance, if you're interested in the health tech industry.