Bixal Sketch Template

The purpose of this project is to provide a convenient starting point for new projects.

Installation

1. Download the zip from this repo.
2. Download and install the San Francisco typeface.
3. Before opening the Sketch files, add the Icons file as a Library in your Sketch Preferences.
4. Open the Bixal Design file and select 'Save as Template' from the Sketch File menu. (This will create a copy of the file in a special location.)

Usage (New Project)

1. When starting a new project, select the Bixal Design template from the 'New from Template' menu.
2. Create a new page for your stuff.
3. Copy and paste components from the Stickers page or insert new bits from the Insert (Symbols) / Document menu.

Usage (Existing Project)

1. Use the Sketch Palettes plug-in to import the included sketch palette to make the color palette more easily available in the existing file.
2. As of Sketch 51, Text Styles are included in Libraries and available in all your files. Alternatively, you can use the Shared Text Styles plug-in to import text styles.
3. Copy and paste stickers from a file created from the Bixal Design template, or insert new bit using the Insert (Symbols) / Bixal Design menu.

Tips

• If you make changes to the Bixal Design file, make sure you re-save it as a template so newly created files reflect the changes.
• To use the grids, copy and paste them from the Style page instead of adding them from the Symbols menu. That way the Grid and Layout settings for the artboard will already by set up.
• For type variations, just start with the size and color you want, and make changes from there. If you want, you can save the variation as a new style, but I didn't want to clutter the template with every possible variation.
• Add the Bixal Design file as a Library to make the symbols available in existing files.

Making Changes to the Template

In general, you can open your originally saved version of the Bixal Template file, make changes, and re-save it as a template. As long as you keep the same name, this will overwrite the existing template.

Color

To make changes to the color palette:

1. Open the Bixal Design file.
2. Update the existing color symbols with new colors.
3. Add more colors if needed, but working within the existing naming conventions will make things easier and more shareable for others.
4. Re-save the edited as a template to create new files from this version.

Type

To make change to the typography:

1. Open the Bixal Design file.
2. Make changes to the text styles as needed.
3. Be sure to "Update Text Style" from the text style menu.
4. Re-save the edited as a template to create new files from this version.

Note that the bits have their own text symbols. They can pretty easily be updated in bulk. Just select the text layers on the Symbols page to make chages.

Icons

The icons in this project were downloaded from the Material Theme Editor Sketch plug-in from Google. Use the plug-in to download updated versions or varitations. You can also a different svg-based icon library.

To use a different icon library:

1. Add the new file as a Library in Sketch.
2. Use the symbol overrides in your symbols to point to the new file.
3. Re-save the template to use the new icons in future new files.