From selecting to fonts to drawing, the iPhone has transformed the ways in which designers can work on the move. There are now literally thousands of apps that are made to help you with projects and improve work efficiency. Here are 15 useful iPhone apps for designers.
15) TiltShift Generator
TiltShift Generator is an app that allows you to add cool effects to photographs and lets you play around with the contrast and saturation until you come up with a professional looking photo that can be used for a project.
14) GroupShot
GroupShot is not an app built specifically for designers. Anyone can use it. For designers, GroupShot can help you with group photos for projects. Taking the perfect group shot can be hard to do, especially when there are kids involved. This app lets you take a series of shots and takes bits and pieces from each to create the ideal finished product.
13) The Typography Manual
Everything you ever needed to know about typography can be found in The Typography Manual, the essential resource for anyone passionate about type. The app can be downloaded for $3.99 from iTunes.
12) Typography
Typography is a clever little app that takes your message and displays it in collage form. It uses letters from pictures on Flickr. You can then pass the message on to friends, or you can use it for a particular project. It is a quick way to explore different typefaces.
11) Omnifocus
The average work day of a designer can get pretty hectic, so any app that can help keep things organized is more than welcome. Omnifocus is simple to use and intuitive allowing you to have all of your daily tasks laid out before you. It does come at a premium price, but is worth the investment.
10) Cinemagram
First there was Instagram, now there is Cinemagram, an app that lets you animate sections of an image and then edit it with the same sort of vintage effects that have made Instagram so popular. Plus, you can share your finished design on social media.
9) Harvest
Many designers work as freelancers where time is money. Harvest is a time and expense tracker and provides a nice clock that flips between billable hours and the length of time you have been working. Uploading photos of receipts to the expense tracker will help you to keep records organized.
8) TypeDrawing
This app has been designed purely for fun, but can result in some top quality work for a project. TypeDrawing works by you typing in sentence and then using the words as brushstrokes to create pictures. Drawings can also be exported for more detailed work.
7) Instagram
Instagram is a photo-sharing app, where you can socialize your photos. For designers, the app also lets you take and enhance photos by adding various effects to them, turning a boring amateur shot into a glorious piece of professional artwork. In addition, some designers follow other designers for collaboration, inspiration, and fun.
6) iDesign
iDesign is a great app for drawing on the move. You will want to play with a clever feature that allows you to sketch precisely with your finger tip without blocking your own view in the process.
5) Palettes
A color palette is always a handy tool for a designer and this app provides you with the tools to create and manage palettes on the move. Palettes also allow you to pick colors from websites and photos and save them for later use.
4) WhatTheFont
WhatTheFont is a simple and very effective app that allows you to take pictures of fonts that take your fancy in magazines or on posters and find them to use for your own project. The font identification engine that the app uses is able to provide you with an identical or close match within seconds.
3) Sketchbook Mobile
Sketchbook Mobile allows you to create sketches on the move. You can import them into Photoshop for further editing. Sketchbook Mobile is filled with many great features for detailing your designs, such as zooming up to 2,500%, custom color swatches, and 65 preset brush settings. It is from Autodesk, too.
2) myPANTONE
myPantone is similar to Palettes but offers a greater range of colors (over 13,000) and allows you to sync palettes with various design software programs. Since it shows the Pantone colors, it can be used by interior designers to choose the right palettes for their projects. Animators, game design, mobile design, web design, and more may find this app to be useful.
1) Adobe Ideas
This app allows you to create your own “idea journal” whenever inspiration strikes. If an idea pops into your head, you can use Adobe Ideas to write down your latest idea or sketch your latest creation. You will enjoy available tools to help you sketching and layer. Plus, it is a great companion to Adobe’s other design programs.
Let’s us know what design tools you use. We want to start reviewing apps on a regular basis. In the meantime, happy designing!
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Amelia Hunter is a journalist who is interested in design and computer games. She is the founder of Teqno-Logical.com, online magazine about the latest tech news and other stuff. You can also find her @ Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/amelia.hunter.146) and Twitter (@HunterAmelia)
Paper for drawing/sketching/art. Beautiful capabilities. The watercolor “brush” is scary good for digital.
Notability for note-taking. Best $.99 app ever. Typing, handwritten (I almost always have a stylus with me), take pictures and annotate right in your notes, etc. Automatic sync with various cloud drives (I use dropbox and box), and export as PDF. Amazing.
Mindmeister for mind-mapping and brainstorming. I use on desktop and iPad.
Photoshop Touch (the $9.99 one) is very good, probably better than Adobe ideas.
Another great color palette app is Pocketswatch. Makes RGB, CMYK and HEX palette creation fun and even emails you a color swatch file you can use in Adobe apps!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocketswatch/id509958461?mt=8