Top Design Apps for Every Creative Entreprenuer
You don’t have to be an expert designer or even the next van gough to take advantage of these phenomenal creative apps. Creating consistent content this day in age is already hard enough, why make it any harder? To help your design process, I have compiled a list of apps I use on “the regular” to get content out quickly, efficiently, and honestly give myself some peace of mind. All these apps are pretty easy to use and free unless you want all the download all the custom features/upgrades. Let’s dive right in!
The Design Therapy Top Apps List
Adobe Capture
Adobe Capture is kind of an inspiration catch all. When you take a photo of a design, pattern, advertisement, or even landscape, this app gives you the power to develop custom brand identities down to figuring out what font is being used (or at least something similar) on that flyer you saw in the coffee shop. I like to call it my “identifier app”, its immediate inspiration for compiling later designs.
Canva
This is your template to-go app. It makes graphic design easy and accessible for all. Canva has a list of pre-made designs, but also allows you to develop concepts from scratch. This is really great for anyone who doesn’t have a creatively trained background, but to be honest it’s even for designers who are having a lazy moment as well. LOL guilty… especially with story designs. Its so quick, convenient, and easy. Simple as that.
InShot
Unleash your inner videographer. I by no means am a videographer, but I do have a great understanding of storyboards, conceptual development, and piecing together a short clip. This app right here has helped me utilize the skills I already had and made the video processing less scary. It is so easy to use and makes me feel like I can be the next Steven Spielberg. Okay that might be an exaggeration, but it seriously has made editing my videos painless.
I personally upgraded on this app, because I wanted the extra features and less advertisements. If you plan to use video content frequently, I suggest you do the same. It’s like $2.99 a month. Less than a latte at Starbucks. :)
InstaBio
Connect the universe! It is your destiny. Okay okay maybe not the universe, but at least get all your websites, profiles, youtubes, and other social media accounts connected under one linked app. It not only cleans up the look on your social profiles, but helps your audiences find the correct information with ease.
There are also other good competitors out there as well such as LinkTree. Another creative option is to develop a website page with the active links to your accounts as well. I have seen a lot of designers do that on their own website.
Lightroom
Take your photos to the next level! This app is a powerful tool allowing you to elevate your photography and capture the very best of your visual eye. It’s super easy to use even if you aren’t an image editor. Makes IG filters a thing of the past my friends.
Preview
I cannot express how important it is to build your content in batch content rounds. It allows you to visually see how a feed looks collectively of multiple posts and relieves the stress of constantly trying to come up with a post each and every day. I really use this app to see how colors, images, and text will play with each other every time I post.
PS Camera
What can I say, I love Adobe products. They make my job the easy. This app is typically used for editing images very similar to Lightroom, but I mostly use it for the cool color filters, flares, light leaks or overlays. It brings a uniqueness to your images that is your very own aesthetic and helps you stand out from the crowd. It’s that icing on the cake to give it a little something extra.
Camera One (Galaxy Users)
I just downloaded this one, so I am learning a bit about it. My intention was to help capture images and video without having to yell at my phone audibly to trigger the photo. lol And yes it just as it sounds. I look like a crazy person trying to take IG photos on my tripod in my back lot and my neighbors are like what the heck is happening. This app is to help eliminate that. So far so good. It’s pretty seamless and works well with my Galaxy Watch. Only disappointing note is that to get all the timing features, you do have to download premium. So stay tuned, if I find something better!
Calendly
This is by far the best scheduling app I have found besides Schedulista. It’s free and easy to use. I placed it immediately on my website to help clients schedule consultations and brand meetings. I also love the mobile version. I can make changes quickly and efficiently plus it connects seamlessly to my google calendar.
Squarespace (Or whatever website service you own)
I can’t express enough how important it is to have your website service in a mobile version whether it’s SquareSpace, Wordpress, GoDaddy, etc. It allows me to do quick edits to pages, minor design customizations, updating SEO, track analytics, and so much more. It’s a huge help to staying on top of all things branding!