Must-Have Design Tools for Social Media Designers
1. Core Application Alternatives;
some great creative communities t that help designers connect and promote work.
linking out to social networks is a core element of social web design. Having a Twitter or Facebook icon front and center gives visitors a recognizable channel through which they can connect. IconFinder makes the process of finding the icon that compliments your design a bit easier. It’s a search engine for icons submitted by users, with detailed information on their graphic formats and licenses — nearly all of which are free and available for commercial use. The interface provides a convenient way to download icons right from the search results.
5. MockFlow http://www.mockflow.com
Wire Framing - MockFlow is a versatile tool that enables you to quickly render functional website prototypes without a big time investment. There are also real-time collaboration and note taking features built into the platform.
6. Notable http://www.notableapp.com
For Business Design teams who need to easily swap feedback and iterate quickly. Notable works on the web, so you can capture and notate web pages from any computer, as well as your iPhone. Image captures and their respective notes stay organized on your notable account dashboard, and can easily be shared out to your collaborators or team.
7. Campaign Monitor http://www.campaignmonitor.com
Email Marketing software for designers and their clients. Campaign Monitor is an intuitive e-mail marketing application created for designers. It has excellent tools for designing professional HTML e-mails, creating and managing e-mail campaigns, useful e-mail analytics, and more. In addition to the valuable features Gube notes above, Campaign Monitor can also be a viable source of income in itself. “For designers looking to expand their service offerings, you can re-brand, customize, and resell Campaign Monitor to your clients.
8. Proposable http://www.proposable.com
An online tool that allows you to build highly customized, branded presentations. A Proposable account incorporates an asset library (which can include rich media like video), a variety of templates, and a comment management system for real-time feedback.
9. Freshbooks http://www.freshbooks.com
An all-in-one web app for invoicing, tracking expenses, time-tracking, and more. Keep track of expenses, manage payments, and generate professional invoices quickly and effortlessly,”This tool caters to freelancers and is aimed towards creatives (designers, developers, writers, artists), it is one of the few web app start-ups that still values customer support.. And the fact that it’s all on the web allows you to “send someone a bill from your favorite WiFi-enabled coffee house.
10. 960 Grid System http://www.960.gs
f you’re building blog templates or other interactive websites, the 960 Grid System is a good way to map out your page elements so they can achieve alignment harmony. 960 Grid provides examples of how the system works with a number of sites, and also offers a wealth of other code- related resources for web designers. Sketch Sheets supplied with the 960 Grid System display a browser frame and grid lines.
- GIMP www.gimp.org image editing functions similar to PhotoShop but FREE
- LINKSCAPE http://www.inkscape.org an alternative for creating vector illustrations over Adobe Illustrator.
some great creative communities t that help designers connect and promote work.
- Society6 http://www.society6.com
- THIS IS CENTRAL STATION http://www.thisiscentralstation.com
- CREATTICA http://www.creattica.com
- DESIGN TAXI http://www.designtaxi.com
- DESIGNUS http://www.dezignus.com ...a good resource for free vector illustrations and textures, and they have a large selection of downloads that is constantly expanding.
- COVERLOVERS.COM http://www.colourlovers.com ...a fascinating resource for designers looking for color scheme inspiration and help.
- DAFONT.COM http://www.dafont.com ...a huge selection of free fonts that are easily accessible and downloadable.
- deviantART http://www.deviantart.com ...a great resource for sharing and getting design assets (Photoshop brushes, textures, icons, and more)
linking out to social networks is a core element of social web design. Having a Twitter or Facebook icon front and center gives visitors a recognizable channel through which they can connect. IconFinder makes the process of finding the icon that compliments your design a bit easier. It’s a search engine for icons submitted by users, with detailed information on their graphic formats and licenses — nearly all of which are free and available for commercial use. The interface provides a convenient way to download icons right from the search results.
5. MockFlow http://www.mockflow.com
Wire Framing - MockFlow is a versatile tool that enables you to quickly render functional website prototypes without a big time investment. There are also real-time collaboration and note taking features built into the platform.
6. Notable http://www.notableapp.com
For Business Design teams who need to easily swap feedback and iterate quickly. Notable works on the web, so you can capture and notate web pages from any computer, as well as your iPhone. Image captures and their respective notes stay organized on your notable account dashboard, and can easily be shared out to your collaborators or team.
7. Campaign Monitor http://www.campaignmonitor.com
Email Marketing software for designers and their clients. Campaign Monitor is an intuitive e-mail marketing application created for designers. It has excellent tools for designing professional HTML e-mails, creating and managing e-mail campaigns, useful e-mail analytics, and more. In addition to the valuable features Gube notes above, Campaign Monitor can also be a viable source of income in itself. “For designers looking to expand their service offerings, you can re-brand, customize, and resell Campaign Monitor to your clients.
8. Proposable http://www.proposable.com
An online tool that allows you to build highly customized, branded presentations. A Proposable account incorporates an asset library (which can include rich media like video), a variety of templates, and a comment management system for real-time feedback.
9. Freshbooks http://www.freshbooks.com
An all-in-one web app for invoicing, tracking expenses, time-tracking, and more. Keep track of expenses, manage payments, and generate professional invoices quickly and effortlessly,”This tool caters to freelancers and is aimed towards creatives (designers, developers, writers, artists), it is one of the few web app start-ups that still values customer support.. And the fact that it’s all on the web allows you to “send someone a bill from your favorite WiFi-enabled coffee house.
10. 960 Grid System http://www.960.gs
f you’re building blog templates or other interactive websites, the 960 Grid System is a good way to map out your page elements so they can achieve alignment harmony. 960 Grid provides examples of how the system works with a number of sites, and also offers a wealth of other code- related resources for web designers. Sketch Sheets supplied with the 960 Grid System display a browser frame and grid lines.
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