i mean… i saw some popular sofewae only in mac…
i even saw a job description … they only use sketch…not adobe Creative cloud …
Although Macs are ubiquitous in the design world, for all practical purposes anything that can be done on a Mac can be done on a PC (and vice versa).
That said, there’s no excuse for not having a good working knowledge of Macs, and how to use them. I have been switching back and forth for years, so I know that I’m at a bit of an advantage in this world. As the OS’s grow closer together, however, it’s now a lot easier to jump from one to another than it used to be.
Long story short: don’t go out and buy a Mac just to “fit in,” but make sure you feel comfortable using one in case you’re assigned one on your next job.
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I totally agree with dougcollins, a mac is just a tool and being able to switch between different system is a big advantage for a designer, the best would to be able to work with both system (win and mac) and perhaps also with some opensource OS (linux distributions).
The more system you use the more solutions to the same problem you could find and learn.
Generally speaking just find the machine and the software you are more comfortable with and you’re good to go (and never forget paper and pencil)
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I’m a firm believer that all a good UX practitioner needs is pen and paper. Keep things in low fidelity as long as possible until you have discovered what the experience need to be. The only time you should need a computer is for creating high-fidelity wireframes, prototypes (although even some phone apps like Prott do this now), email, spec docs, project management software, etc. UX is about listening to customers, and collaborating with your team…in whatever medium they already use. Of course, computers help and you will absolutely need one, but the idea that you need a Mac is changing. Apple pioneered this stereotype with their Macbook Pro line by creating a machine meant for creative professionals. Sketch is only available for Mac which further entrenches this connection, but recently, there have been a slew of products that aren’t exclusively for Mac. Browser-based tools seem to be the new operating system. This is an amazing time to be a creative professional. You can grab any computer off the shelf and be online and working within the day because everything works through your browser.
If I were to start over, my dream kit would include a Microsoft Surface Pro because you would have the tablet for reading and research and note taking. You would also have the desktop mode for wireframing and prototyping. I started as a visual designer, but since I’ve moved into UX, I haven’t opened the Adobe Creative Suite in a year, but even the new kid on the block, Adobe XD, is available for Windows. I would use the included stylus for wireframing and then quickly prototype them with InVision or UX PIn. If I needed to do wireframes or UI I would use Figma, a browser-based collaborative design tool that can do everything Sketch can do and more. I would then take my prototype and get out of the building (OOB!) and test it with people in the real world. This toolkit would kick a Mac in the throat any day…
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