These days, good old-fashioned paper and pencils can only get you so far. Designers today are on-the-go digital creators, so they need tools that can work for them anywhere, at anytime. It’s a tough task to live up to — but some apps pass the test. Check out these 10 top apps for designers and creatives that you’ll want to download stat:
Axure: This cool app gives designers easy-to-use prototyping and wireframing tools, plus you can upgrade to the pro version to take advantage of powerful collaboration features. The app claims that it’s used by more than 60 percent of the businesses on the Fortune 100 list, so you’ll be in good company.
Behance: Show off your best stuff on Behance, an online portfolio site powered by Adobe that’s pretty much the top choice for designers and creatives. You can browse through posted jobs, too.
Paper: No, not the blank white sheet kind. This app lets you draw on photos, take “handwritten” notes, and sketch sweet diagrams and charts. The app is free, though you may want to purchase the stylish “pencil,” the stylus sold by the makers of the app, to take full advantage of the app’s tools.
Hackpad: This cloud-based collaboration tool is loved by developers and designers for its highly customizable privacy settings, monospace code formatting, and multimedia embeds. Plus, the app is owned by Dropbox, so file storing and sharing is super easy.
MindNode: Remember mind maps, where you’d write down a central idea and draw offshoots as you brainstormed? Here’s an equivalent tool for the digital age. This app is perfect for designers who work best by organizing their thoughts visually.
MyPrice: Freelance designers, how do you price your projects? If you find that question hard to answer, this app can help. MyPrice helps freelancers of all kinds figure out how much they need to charge per hour or per project to reach financial goals.
Skala View: This is the companion app for Skala Preview, which lets you send high-quality design previews from your computer to your mobile device. Previews are color and pixel perfect, and you can connect to your computer view USB or wifi.
Adobe illustrator Draw: Another digital drawing tool (and it’s from Adobe, so you know it’s good), that lets you draw with vectors, add layers, and send your files directly to your desktop, to either Illustrator CC or Photoshop CC as a PNG file.
Marksta: Designers and creatives run into this problem all the time: someone steals your illustration or photo and blasts it all over the internet, without giving you any credit. Marksta helps mitigate this problem by easily allowing you to apply watermarks to your images. Take that, digital pirates!
ColorSchemer: Any color lovers in the house? This fun app allows designers to browse an incredible array of palettes put together by fellow “COLOURlovers” — and of course, you can build your own.
Are you a designer or creative who can’t live without a certain app? Share your suggestions with us in the comments below!
