Sketch was the design tool that defined product design in the 2014-2019 window before Figma took over. macOS-only, file-based, with a strong plugin ecosystem and Symbol library. Most senior product designers spent years in Sketch before migrating; the conceptual model (artboards, symbols, text styles, shared libraries) maps almost 1:1 onto Figma.
Active Sketch use in 2026 is mostly maintenance for existing design systems and teams that haven't migrated. New green-field design work happens in Figma. Courses still exist for engineers reading legacy Sketch files or for designers maintaining older mac-based workflows.