Digital design has witnessed plenty of evolution in the past several years. Today, there are plenty of innovative tools that perform many tasks including enhancing visual aesthetics, refining workflows, and giving the creative minds of the world more ideas than ever.
We will be taking a look at 15 essential tools that will make your digital design creativity better than ever before. We’ll explain why we went with these tools and how you can be able to use them to your advantage.
Ready to see what would be a good fit for you? Let’s get started right now.
1. Mixbook
Let’s begin with Mixbook. It’s one of the most innovative platforms when it comes to putting together a custom-made presentation. You can create everything from scrapbooks to marketing material or something that you want to put together for your creative needs.
Be sure to give yourself plenty of creative inspiration. You’ll never know what kind of ideas you can generate from there.
What makes Mixbook stand out is that it features a drag-and-drop interface that will make creative works a lot easier to put together. You’ll also have the ability to create high-quality prints as well. If you’re looking for something that is user-friendly and delivers excellent quality, Mixbook just might be right up your alley.
2. Adobe Creative Cloud
Obviously, Adobe Creative Cloud is loaded with plenty of industry-standard applications. They include but are not limited to Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator – all of which are excellent for all your creative needs.
You’ll get plenty of tools that will best suit your video editing, UI/UX, and graphic design needs all in one place. Even better, it uses cloud-based technology so you can be able to access it across your favorite devices.
After all, it’s cloud technology. You can access it on any device and anywhere you may be. So long as you have the credentials, you’re good to go. Also, Adobe Creative Cloud is designed for those who want a program where collaboration is seamless and easy.
3. Figma
If you are looking for something that offers plenty of collaborative and teamwork features, Figma just might be the tool. You can be able to create innovative prototypes along with all kinds of creative works with your team members.
Specifically, this is the tool that can work quite well with those who chiefly work on UI/UX projects. It’s browser-based and is easily accessible, so you can get work done any time and any place.
4. Canva
Canva is among one of the most popular graphic design apps for creatives. There are plenty of good reasons why.
To begin, it’s user-friendly and features plenty of different templates, fonts, and design elements. You can drum up plenty of excellent creative ideas for social media graphics, presentations, marketing materials, and so much more.
For the most part, Canva is free but you can pay a premium price for additional features. However, there are many creatives that can make do without paying the premium amount. If you are looking for a budget friendly option and the features available in the free version are enough, Canva will certainly be the winning choice for many creatives (especially those operating on a limited budget).
5. Procreate
If you are someone who is more of a digital illustrator, then you could consider giving Procreate a try. It’s got plenty of features including integration from Apple Pencil and plenty of customization options that will allow you to create high-quality digital works of art.
Ideally, it’s an excellent tool that will allow you to create digital style paintings with ease. Could your next masterpiece be created on something like Procreate?
You might have ideas for landscapes or portraits that can really pop. Plus, with its brush engine you can be able to create it with excellent precision.
6. Sketch
For those who are more specialized in UI/UX design, Sketch will allow you to utilize the program’s prototyping abilities along with vector editing tools that will make web and mobile interface designing a lot easier.
Whether it’s creating the next big mobile app or a website for yourself or your clients, Sketch can be a good choice for someone looking for a robust program that also allows for excellent workflow efficiency.
Many of Sketch’s users are singing its praises for how simple and robust it is. It will also be great for those who want to get the work done while staying focused. Plus, you can also get people to collaborate on the project with you so they can unleash their creative ideas that mesh well with yours.
7. Affinity Designer
If you’re looking for what might be a great alternative to Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer could be an excellent option.
While Adobe Illustrator is something you pay for on a monthly basis, it’s a one-time purchase for Affinity Designer (which can be a blessing if you don’t want to spend a monthly subscription). You’ll get excellent design capabilities that are professional grade and be able to design whatever comes to mind.
Its award winning software is great not just for desktop devices, but also for iPad as well. Whenever the mood strikes you, you’ll be able to get started on your next masterpiece even on the go. This software has plenty of design opportunities at your disposal – whether it’s for professional looking illustrations, game development, and so much more. Imagine having the power of excellent creativity right at your fingertips.
8. Miro
With Miro, you have a digital whiteboard that you can use to your advantage for all your brainstorming needs. It also has features that will allow you to create concept maps, wireframing, and so much more.
Even better, you’ll be able to create visual ideas and share them with your team. You can design things, manage your projects, and so much more – which is something more than 80 million users are doing right now.
One of the best features is that you can add plenty of content and data across numerous platforms. Got something from Adobe or Microsoft? Upload that to the Miro platform and get right to work.
9. Lunacy
If you are looking for something that is lightweight and uses the power of AI, say hello to Lunacy. Here’s one of the best things about this program: it supports files that you have originally created from the Sketch platform. How awesome is that? Best of all, it’s a tool that you can use for removing backgrounds, vector illustrations, avatar generations, and so much more.
Lunacy can also allow you to import files from Figma as well. Already, it’s beginning to look a lot like your new favorite software that can do plenty of things. Price wise, you can do quite a bit with the free version. However, the pro version is budget-friendly and gives you a wide variety of tools and features that you can work with.
10. CorelDRAW
This tool also has plenty of AI-powered tools that will allow you to create the best high-quality designs for artwork, marketing (especially if enhancing conversion rates is the goal), and building a brand among others.
It also has plenty of advanced typography features so you can utilize fonts that will be a good fit for brand identity or any design project that you put together. You can choose an app that is fit for individuals or businesses.
Available are the CorelDRAW Standard, CorelDRAW Essentials, and the CorelDraw Graphics Suite.
You can choose any of these that are fit for your creative goals and needs. If you are looking for a platform that gives you a wide variety of tools and willing to spend money regularly on a subscription, the Graphics Suite could be right up your alley (especially when it’s jam-packed with excellent tools that will allow you to unleash your creativity).