If you’re a creative professional, the keys to success aren’t just a knowledge of design software – you’ll need effective tools and handy resources for personal organization, project management, record-keeping, collaboration, inspiration, and more. Check out our list of the top tools for designers, freelancers, and creatives of all kinds to keep your work running smoothly.
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Resources for Personal Organization & Project Management
Trello
Trello is a free project management tool using boards, lists, and cards to organize tasks and collaborate. Its intuitive visual layout makes tracking project progress simple, with snappy drag-and-drop functionality that lets you sort data, images, tasks, and other types of information visually. With free integrations like Slack and Google Drive, Trello is ideal for managing design workflows without breaking the bank.
Notion
Notion is an all-in-one workspace that seamlessly blends note-taking, task management, and collaboration tools into a single platform. It’s designed to adapt to your workflow, offering the flexibility to create everything from simple to complex databases, wikis, and project management boards. It offers a free tier that provides robust features for organizing notes, tasks, and projects. Want to learn more? Read our guide to using icons in Notion to visually organize your life.
Evernote
With a focus on note-taking and word processing, Evernote offers more robust functionality than your standard note-taking app. Their free plan allows designers to capture ideas, organize notes, and manage tasks efficiently. With features like web clipping and document scanning, Evernote streamlines creative processes– plus, it can sync across multiple devices to ensure your notes are always accessible, making it a great tool for on-the-go productivity.
Todoist
Todoist offers a free version that is a simple yet powerful task manager for keeping track of to-dos and deadlines. Its clean interface allows easy task creation, prioritization, and progress tracking. Collaborative features and integrations with other productivity tools make Todoist a practical choice for designers managing multiple projects.
Milanote
Milanote allows you to organize your ideas and projects into visual boards. Its drag-and-drop interface is perfect for organizing images, notes, links, and even creating to-do lists visually. Part white boarding tool and part project manager, Milanote is great for mood boards, concept development, and brainstorming sessions. It also offers a free tier allowing designers to jump in and start gathering inspiration.
Collaboration and Communication Tools
Slack
Slack is an indispensable go-to for team communication and collaboration. As a messaging app, it allows you to carry real-time conversations with one or several colleagues in a workplace or join affinity groups around a certain topic to network. Slack gives you control and flexibility in creating “Channels” around specific topics, controlling what members can post, and allowing people to not only converse but share files and feedback. free plan provides a robust messaging platform for real-time team communication and collaboration. With channels, direct messaging, and integrations, Slack helps designers stay connected and coordinate projects efficiently. Customizable notifications ensure important updates are never missed – and you’re not too inundated with information you don’t need.
Mural: Digital Whiteboarding
Mural is a digital whiteboard environment designed to make collaboration visual, accessible, and engaging for your entire team. Beyond being a fast and convenient digital whiteboard tool, Mural provides guidance for teams and fresh ideas to help people share what’s on their mind.
From brainstorm meetings to product launches and charting future growth, Mural helps teams break ideas down visually and find alignment on their next steps.
Best of all, Mural uses Noun Project’s Icon API to make visual collaboration even easier and help team members distill complex ideas down to their most basic, digestible forms.
Read more about how Mural integrates with Noun Project, and sign up with their “free forever” plan.
Figjam: Design Collaboration
Figma’s FigJam is a versatile online whiteboarding tool designed for collaborative brainstorming and ideation sessions. With FigJam, teams can create, share, and edit diagrams, flowcharts, mind maps, and sketches in real-time, facilitating a seamless collaborative experience. It offers an array of intuitive tools, such as sticky notes, shapes, connectors, and drawing tools, allowing users to visually organize ideas and workflows effectively. FigJam integrates smoothly with Figma, enabling designers to transition effortlessly between broad-level brainstorming and detailed design work, making it an ideal platform for fostering creativity and enhancing productivity in a team environment.
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Marketing Communications Manager at Noun Project, Designer and Illustrator.
