Design tools can help you develop visual ideas, but the exact tool you need depends on the type of designer you are. You could be a graphic designer, UX designer, web designer, or even product designer. There are different tools for different jobs, but there are shared principles in terms of choosing the designer tool you should add to your arsenal.

In this article, let’s discuss what design tools are, their common features, and how to choose the design tools that match your needs.

What are design tools?

Design tools are online platforms or software programs that help designers manipulate their designs in various ways like adding layers, using brushes or picking colors. In short, these tools bring designers’ ideas to life.

With the right design tools, you can create, visualize, edit, and optimize different types of designs including web pages, graphics, user interfaces, and product designs. The goal is to make the output both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Without design tools, the process will be daunting and time-consuming.

Common Features of Design Tools

There are design tools that are beginner-friendly, and there are also software programs that are for advanced users. It’s important to choose a tool with features that match your skill level. The following basic features can make a design tool functional and effective.

• Templates Pre-designed templates can help designers jump-start their creative process.
• Graphical assets Typography, icons, color palettes, and images are all crucial components for a successful design project
• Editing Features A design tool should have selection tools, layer management features, drawing tools, effects and filters, vector editing, and color and text editing.

One key factor in design projects is ideation and prototyping, and the features below are crucial for sketching and ideation, prototyping, and wireframing:

• Sketching tools Designers need rough drawings and freehand sketches to quickly visualize design concepts
• Wireframing tools Establishing a design layout and creating a hierarchy of elements is crucial for projects like web design. This function requires key elements like artboard, UI elements, drawing and text tools, selection tools, interactive elements, responsive design, and user testing integration.
• Prototyping tools Designers need to simulate user interactions to properly test user experience and refine the design. In this case, features like drag-and-drop, conditional logic, feedback and commenting, real device testing, and compatibility with other design tools can come in handy. In the prototyping phase, the design tool should be able to support the designer in making quick iterations to seamlessly and easily adjust and finalize the design project.

Before bringing the best design to life, designers would usually go through a trial and error process to deliver the output that works best for the client. The process can be made much easier with the right design tool at hand.

What to Consider When Choosing Design Tools

Whether it’s your company’s first time purchasing a design tool or you’re in the process of switching to a new one. Make sure to take the following into consideration:

Cost

You can buy design tools for a one-time cost or it could be a matter of monthly or annual subscription. The more sophisticated the features, the more expensive it will be. There are low-cost or even free tools that can help you produce simple designs. In the end, it depends on what type of output you’re looking to achieve and whether or not it’s a core part of your operation. If it’s for one-time use, it might even be better to just hire a freelance designer, so you won’t have to buy any design tools.

Ease of Use

User-friendliness is a very important element. After all, it’s all about improving the workflow and saving time. Any complicated feature could only frustrate the user or interrupt the creative flow, so make sure to make the most of trial offers to get the feel of the tool’s interface and usability.

Compatibility

Some design tools are only compatible with Mac OS while some only work with Windows. Some design software also require certain extensions and plugins which can further affect compatibility, so make sure that the tool’s compatibility is verified not just considering your own device but the entire team involved as well.

Anyone working in the field of design requires the right design tools to ensure a smooth and efficient completion of a design project. If you’re buying a tool for your entire team, you can monitor the new tool’s efficiency by checking its adoption and level of utility across your team. Do subscription audits with Talisman to easily check whether or not your new tool (or any subscription tool for that matter) is up to the mark.

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