The essential guide to tools for designers

12 essential tools for graphic designers in 2018
Our guide to the must-have hardware, software and equipment to have at your disposal this year, ranging from laptops to creative software, SSDs and graphics tablets, Pantone swatch books, cameras, and ergonomic desks and chairs.

8 tools to help you work remotely as a freelancer
Set yourself up anywhere with these essential pieces of kit for freelancers: a lightweight laptop, battery pack, USB-C hub, Mobile WiFi, noise cancelling headphones, a portable wireless printer, an external SSD and a decent VPN.

4 design tools you never knew you needed
These four new tools for 2018 could inspire you to rethink the way you work. Our list includes tools for collaboration, for finding colours, working in 3D and inspiring creative thinking.

8 simple productivity tools for designers
Become more efficient right away with these must-have apps, including Momentum, Magnet, Freedom, Spark, Noizio, Harvest, Be Focused Pro and Time.

9 tools to make graphic design easier in 2018
Top tools to speed up your workflow, including Photoshop Lightroom CC, Photoshop CC’s Curvature Pen and Select Subject tools, Illustrator CC's Cineware plugin and Puppet Warp tool, InVision Studio, Lightwell, Wake, and Easle.

8 ways to automate common design tasks
Free up more time to work on creative projects by automating day-to-day tasks such as sorting your inbox, managing your social media accounts and chasing invoices with the help of these useful tools.

6 best collaboration tools for design studios
Top tools for six common tasks: communicating with the rest of the team, brainstorming ideas, managing shared to-do lists, keeping track of projects visually, managing feedback and revisions, and designing collaboratively.

5 new collaboration tools you need to try
Need to collaborate on a design project with others? Here are five new tools that may help, including Figma, Frame.io, Mural, Slack Desktop and Flock 2.0. 

20 tools to make you more creative in 2018
Some brilliant new tools to consider adding to your creative toolbox, including Fontjoy, Google Material Design Colour Tool, Smartify, Letrs, Wick, Calligraphr, Pixelmator Pro, ARKit, CodePen Projects and many more...

5 free apps that can boost your creativity
Get your brain moving in the right direction with these creativity-inducing apps, including Brainsparker, SimpleMind, TED Talks, Coffitivity and Unstuck.

10 tools to make illustration easier in 2018
Top tools to improve your workflow, including Kyle's Brushes (from Kyle T. Webster) Wacom tablets, Adobe Illustrator CC 22.0, Affinity Photo for iPad, Corel Painter 2018, ArtRage 5, Moleskine Smart Writing Set, Inkscape 0.92 and Autodesk SketchBook 8.4.