Having spent the last few months talking with design and development teams, I've consistently heard about these persistent challenges:

• Keeping designs and translations synchronized requires constant manual effort
• Managing keys across design iterations becomes increasingly complex
• Ensuring translations fit properly within design contexts often leads to back-and-forth adjustments
• Preview limitations result in post-implementation fixes

The Localizely Approach

Localizely offers a Figma plugin as part of their localization ecosystem. Their solution attempts to bridge the design-to-translation gap with features like:

• Basic key management within their platform
• Text export capabilities
• Integration with their translation management system

Having worked with multiple teams implementing Localizely, I've observed several limitations that consistently emerge:

• Platform Lock-in: Teams must commit to Localizely's ecosystem to fully utilize their plugin, creating challenges for those using multiple localization tools
• Limited Automation: Key management remains largely manual, lacking intelligent context understanding
• Preview Constraints: Without detailed in-context previews, teams often discover fitting issues only after implementation
• Manual Corrections: Design changes frequently require extensive manual updates and adjustments

Understanding Localizely and Gleef

Platform Integration

• Localizely: Requires full platform adoption, limiting flexibility in tool choice
• Gleef: Works seamlessly with any localization platform or workflow, including Localizely

Key Management & Automation

• Localizely: Basic automation for text export and key management
• Gleef: AI-powered key generation with context understanding and intelligent duplicate handling

Design Preview

• Localizely: Limited preview capabilities leading to potential design inconsistencies
• Gleef: Detailed in-context previews directly in Figma, preventing truncation and layout issues

Workflow Flexibility

• Localizely: Tied to their ecosystem, requiring potential workflow changes
• Gleef: Adapts to your existing processes with simple file exports (JSON, CSV, XML)

This comparison makes it clear: while Localizely offers a traditional approach to localization management, Gleef provides advanced automation and flexibility that works alongside any existing solution. There's no need to choose - use Gleef's intelligent key management with your preferred localization platform, whether that's Localizely or another solution.

Why We're Different

At Gleef, we've reimagined how design and localization should interact. Our AI-powered approach means:

1. True Automation: No more manual key creation or management - our system understands context and generates meaningful keys automatically.
2. Perfect Previews: See exactly how translations will appear in your designs, preventing layout issues before they occur.
3. Universal Compatibility: Keep your existing localization workflow while adding intelligent key management and design integration.

Looking Ahead

While we're currently focused on revolutionizing key management and design integration, our vision extends further. We're building the future of AI-powered localization, starting with the foundation: intelligent key management and precise design integration.

Conclusion

From the countless conversations I've had with teams struggling with localization, one thing is clear: if you're working with Figma and need localization management that actually understands your designs, Gleef is the solution you've been looking for. Whether you're using Localizely or any other localization platform, our plugin will transform your workflow while integrating perfectly with your existing processes.

Ready to experience truly intelligent design localization? Join our beta waitlist and see how Gleef can transform your workflow while working seamlessly with your current localization platform.

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