Debating grid vs freeform layout in Sketch - which is faster?

I was working on a dashboard redesign last Tuesday night around 11 PM. Got about 40 layers deep into a responsive grid system. Then I accidentally deleted the whole parent artboard. Ctrl+Z didn't fix it because I had already closed the file. Took me 3 hours to rebuild from scratch. Now I'm wondering if strict grid layouts really save time or if they just add more steps when things break. My buddy swears by freeform placement with smart guides. He says he finishes projects 30% faster without constraints. But I like the consistency of grids for team handoffs. What do you guys think - grids for precision or freeform for speed?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.hannah4d ago

Wait you closed the file without saving after deleting everything? That sounds like a nightmare. Doesn't that make you want to just go full freeform to avoid that kind of pain?

phoenixp304d ago

Me and autosave have a very complicated relationship...