14 prominent must-try tools for app designers

Since mobile came into fashion, mobile apps became all the hype of the previous decade. From full-blown businesses to small startup companies, everyone wanted to try it.

Now that with great power comes great responsibility, it became adamant for mobile app designers and developers to deliver user-friendly apps with high functionality. It has become imperative for them to realize that developing such apps require nothing but great creative skills and the right tools like Designhill and many other.

The whole process of mobile app development is nothing but an art, and all arts require impeccable tools isn’t that so? Well, for this same reason, we will discuss today the best  14 tools that an app designer must know about and hone it for a more engaging design  process.

So, without any further ado, let’s find out.

Best Design Tools to Consider in 2020-2021

1. Sketch

Top on our list is the Sketch, which is a lightweight UI/UX design tool based on  MacBook for modern app designers. Sketch tool in many respects resembles Adobe Photoshop. However, it is developed specifically for the app prototyping

And possesses a high share in the wireframe and prototyping niche.

The size of the tool is about 20 megabytes and fortunately, it does not require too much system resources as it exports assets very fast. All there is to do is buy it just once and then renew the license on a yearly basis. Though it cannot be animated, it is still an amazing option for app designers to opt for.

So, whenever you find yourself wanting to edit photos, you are required to integrate this app with other tools like Photoshop or Adobe illustrator.

2 Axure RP

Axure RP is yet another designing tool used by top mobile app design and development companies.

This tool offers almost all the basic functionalities needed to design an app scratch. It offer prototyping function, alongside designing

wireframes, flowcharts, mockups, personas, idea boards, user journeys, graphical documentation, diagramming, etc.

What is more, it also enables designers and developers to code and  add ready-to-use components and libraries to create effective apps.

3 Adobe Experience Design (XD)

Adobe Experience Design, in many ways, is similar and a competitor of the Sketch tool. As we discussed above that Sketch is Mac-based, it cannot be used on any other device. Thanks to XD, which is a dupe for Sketch, it can be used freely and offers all of the amazing features that Sketch possesses from wireframes to prototyping and whatnot.

The tool is 100% integrated with all the other Adobe products which makes it easy for designers to copy and then paste the different assets from Photoshop or Illustrator. XD is expeditious and easy to use in nature. XD seems highly promising and may supersede its contender for good.

4 Proto.io

Proto.io has a wide collection of prototype templates to make the development process more facilitated. It’s simple to use, as it does not require coding. Moreover, it supports UI/UX developers to seamlessly import UI components from Sketch or Photoshop. Developers can make use of the timeline feature to build creative animations to show the flow of the app across various screens and displays.

Another good thing about this tool us that it allows the synchronization between Dropbox and Google Drive so that you can easily access the data stored in them. Some other interesting features of this tool are Material design UI library and Offline mode. Even after being a web app, it can be accessed on offline mode as well.

5 Marvel

Marvel is a perfect choice if you want to design, prototype, and collaborate with the whole team of developers. It makes it possible for developers to synchronize and add designs from other tools like Sketch or Photoshop, and Illustrator with ease, and even those on cloud storage like Dropbox or Google Drive, just like Proto.io. And eventually, use the Marvel tool to make those designs come alive with all the impeccable animation features.

6 Origami Studio

Introduced by Facebook, Origami is a standalone interface design tool. It has been used by to design Facebook apps such as Facebook Messenger and Instagram and is now available for all designers. Especially those interested in visual programming. 

Origami Studio is considered as a complex tool possessing great functionalities. It allows the preview of the app’s prototype (Android or iOS), enables developers to copy and paste layers from Sketch and modify them in Origami.

Another intriguing feature of this tool is that you can record your app’s prototype and then share it with others within the app. Additionally, Origami enables UI/UX developers to connect it with their iOS or Android devices and preview the app prototype and see live changes.

7 OmniGraffle

Another favorite tool of app designers is OmniGraffle, which is essentially a diagram design tool providing the features and freedom to prototype screen flows, strategy maps, wireframes, and a variety of diagrams. It allows designers to quickly visualize the flow of their app. This means that it assists the developers in planning their app development without any hindrance coming in the process.

8 Balsamiq

Balsamiq, unlike the tools we have discussed so far, helps designers to design wireframes effectively. So, if as an app designer, you were on the lookout for a tool that provides efficacious designing wireframes alone, then this is your holy grail.

It is totally up to you whether you want to design wireframe sketches or just develop clean wireframe designs. Another thing which makes it a great option is that it is very fast and possesses various UI elements.

9 JustInMind

Another impeccable standalone tool to consider for designing in 2020-2021 isJustInMind. It is a wireframe and prototype design tool that you can download   to your server if you want team collaboration on any of your app development project.

Additionally, it can be chosen  to add HTML, videos, online widgets, docs, interactive maps and online/offline to your application with the help of its widget library.What is more, JustinMind also supports the integration with JIRA, Microsoft TFS, and Doors. It makes it possible for you to manage your team members for the same platform. In fact, it has loads of plugins extensions for this purpose.

10 UI Stencil kit

UI Stencil Kit is the most perfect and ideal choice for you in case you work with a team. It can prove to be a great tool in your app brainstorming and ideation process. It comes with a notable feature “sticky notes” where you can post idea boards, which makes the whole ideation phrase and process more facilitated.

11 HotGloo

If you were looking for a robust interface designing tool, then your search ends here. HotGloo is just this and more. It allows the designers to prototype any kind of mobile app needing any particular interface. It has highly interactive features making it one of the most preferred tools for app designing for 2019-2020. It enables several designers to work on the same wireframe.

Being a web-based tool, it does not limit the app- developers can work with it from anywhere and are not asked to download any software.

12 Flinto

Flinto is another remarkable designing tool which has both web and Mac version covering a wide user base. It is a good thing as it does not limit the designers to a particular type of device.

The tool helps designers to easily create mirroring iPhone and Android transition animations. It is also considered for prototype previewing. What’s next, it is easy to import the Sketch and Photoshop designs and join your team.

 In fact, sharing the installation link is simple, as you only have to send a link to whoever you want to from the app only.

13 Photoshop

If you have not heard about Adobe Photoshop, then you definitely were living under a rock. It is a classic tool for designers and certainly one of the best out there.

Photoshop has gone under some tremendous changes over the years to keep up with the need of the hour. It has evolved from mere cropping and editing pictures to something much more. It has been loaded with various remarkable features such as Layering, Texture, Lighting, and Blurring. It has also gained the reputation of being  a great tool for  bitmap manipulation. With such impressive features, it is imperative for any app designer to familiarize themselves with this classic tool.

So, these were some of the best design tools that you can head to for making a better future in 2020-2021. Also, you can explore some online design tools to design wonderful graphic designs all you need.Use them wisely and make your target user base fall in love with your app’s look and feel.

Further Read: What Sort of Trends Should I Consider for Website Design?