5 Tools Every Designer Needs

Are you a designer looking for powerful tools to help take your creative projects to the next level? If you are, you must know what modern design tools are available and how they can aid in accomplishing both simple and complex tasks. 

This blog post will provide an overview of five great tools every designer needs, from project management software to full-featured illustration tools. We’ll also examine why these tools are invaluable for producing top-notch work and ensuring everything runs smoothly from start to finish. Keep reading if you’re ready to tackle all the essentials!

User Flow Diagrams

The first tool every designer needs is access to a tool like Overflow, which provides easy-to-use user flow diagrams. In case you aren’t aware, a user flow diagram is a visual representation of the logical path a user would take when using a website, app, product or service. In other words, it is a diagram showing the potential choices a user would make to achieve their goals. 

User flow diagrams are great for designers since they can see exactly what is needed through the user’s journey. For example, what visuals are needed on the home screen, log-in screen, products screen, and more? User flow diagrams also allow designers to quickly show their visual work to clients without long explanations since user flow diagrams are easy to understand. 

Laptop

The next tool every designer needs in 2023 is a laptop. As a designer, you will most likely work from home, but some companies do require designers to meet clients occasionally. That said, you will need a laptop to show your work to clients or to get the necessary information to begin a project. 

Laptops are also great for meetings, but you must get one that allows HDMI input. That said, you might also want to work on the laptop, so you can’t get something on the lower end. You need a laptop with a fast processor and a dedicated graphics card, so something like a gaming laptop will do. 

Desktop Computer

The pride and joy of most designers are the desktop computers, and if you want to become a designer, this is exactly what you will need to get. The great thing about desktop computers is that they can be built by you, from scratch, with custom parts to make the designer’s rig of their dreams. 

First, you will need a lot of RAM, especially if you work on editing software. Second, you are definitely going to need a great dedicated graphics card, something in the higher end of the RTX series or something like the Radeon Pro Vega 64X graphics with 16GB of HBM2 memory. More importantly, you will need a true colour monitor to get accurate colours. 

A Standing Desk

You might have been thinking that a desk is obviously one of the tools needed to be a designer; however, you shouldn’t get a sitting desk. Instead, you should aim to get a standing desk. Standing desks have become very popular over the last few years, especially among architects and designers. 

First, standing desks help prevent a sedentary lifestyle, especially if you will be working for hours on end. If you get tired of standing, you can get a high chair. Using a standing desk has many benefits, so be sure to try it out. 

Tablet and Stylus

Finally, the last tool every designer needs is a tablet and a stylus. If you are just getting into the design world, you might think that designers primarily use their mouse and keyboard to create designs and art.

However, did you know that most designers use a drawing tablet and a stylus representing a pen? These two tools are instrumental in creating great designs and will help improve your efficiency by a large margin. Wacom is a great brand to look at when looking for these tools, but recently, the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil have become popular alternatives, too.