5 Design Tools We Love
In a creative agency, we use a lot of different tools to help us go about our daily tasks. We’ve already talked about office tools we love, but we thought it’s time to be more specific. When we’re not providing high-quality strategy to our clients, most of what we do is design-based. These are just a few of our favorite design tools we use on the regular.
1. Canva
Canva is a lifesaver for anyone who doesn’t have a ton of design skills. Its easy-to-use interface allows users to create beautiful, branded graphics, documents, and more in no time. We love it because it’s a high-quality, free service, but when you upgrade to Canva for Work, you get even more capabilities.
2. Adobe Illustrator
For those who have more design experience, Adobe Illustrator is the way to go. Our designers love this platform, and they use it to create everything from email templates to social graphics to new logos for our clients. While it’s not free, this is definitely an investment worth making for your business.
3. Google Fonts
When we build brands for our clients, Google Fonts is often our first stop. Google Fonts provides myriad types of fonts—from serifs to sans serifs to scripts—that can become the cornerstone of any business’s visual brand. Fonts can help you communicate to the world exactly who you are, and Google Fonts is the perfect place to start.
4. Coolors
Speaking of perfect starting places, Coolors is another free design tool we like to use to find inspiration and to start brainstorming color palettes for visual brands. Coolors is like a slot machine of colors: you keep clicking until you find a color palette you love and would like to use. Just like one color from the palette? Click on it, and Coolors will lock that color and show you other shades that pair with it.
5. Unsplash
Unsplash is an excellent service to help users find free stock images. When you use an image from Unsplash, you don’t have to attribute the image. We use Unsplash to find nice photos in a flash, and they’re perfect for businesses who don’t have the budget for a paid stock photo subscription yet.
Put our design work to the test.
Hoot Design Co. is a marketing, branding, and design agency located in Columbia, MO. We specialize in creating a custom and comprehensive marketing strategy centered around your business's unique strengths and educating you with the tools you need from day one. From logo design to brand identity, website design and execution, and social media marketing strategies in-person and through online courses, we're focused on your business success every step of the way.