Design tools Feature

The 30 best iPhone apps for designers

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From sketching on the go to choosing colours and fonts, these awesome iPhone apps will speed up your workflow and help you make the right design choices.

Good things come in small packages, and though you may not have considered it, the iPhone can be a pretty handy design tool. Stocked with the right apps it can pack some real punch in the studio - and more importantly, out of it.

Despite some strong competition from recent new phone launches, the iPhone continues to be the main smartphone of choice for the design world, and so we've rounded up the very best iPhone apps around to help your day to day design workload.

So whether you plan to do some sketching on the move, are after a particular tool to aid your daily design work, or prefer to take things more seriously with something to help you manage your projects, time and money, there’s a great selection of must-have apps here.

01. MyPrice

best iphone apps
MyPrice is the perfect app for a freelance beginner

Are you a web or graphic designer? Calculate how much you can charge for your creative services taking under account factors like the project, client, location, as well as your education and experience. An app that's perfect for rookie freelancers.

02. Evernote

best iphone apps
Evernote allows you to store your inspiration

Evernote allows you to save your ideas, things you like, things you hear and things you see. You can access your inspiration anywhere as it works with nearly every computer, phone and mobile device out there. And to make things easier, you can search by keyword, tag or even printed and handwritten text inside images.

03. Instagram

best iphone apps
The Instagram profiles have recently launched too

We'll spare you the obvious details on this one, as many of you in the Twittersphere have already told us this is one app that you simply can't live without. Plus, they've just gone live with their Instagram profiles, allowing you to share and showcase your images with even more people than before!

04. Reminder

best iphone apps
Notifications messages will be shown even when the app isn't running

As busy creatives, we're all guilty of getting a bit overwhelmed with the amount of work we're faced with. Thankfully, this app will help you to ensure all your deadlines are met plus, notifications messages will be shown even when the app isn't running so you've got no excuse!

05. Frametastic

best iphone apps
Organise the photographic elements of your life with Frametastic

Frametastic is a tool for sharing the big picture; not just a moment but a memory. It allows to you to have a creative outlet for organising the photographic elements of your life whilst also allowing you to alter your images with a set of colour filters. Kind of like Instagram but more framey.

06. Snapseed

best iphone apps
Snap it. Tweak it. Love it. Share it.

OK, OK we know we're featuring a lot of photo/image based apps but you lot seem to love them out there! With a tag line 'Snap it. Tweak it. Love it. Share it.' Snapseed is pretty self-explanatory. It also won TIPA's Best Mobile App for 2012.

07. ColorSchemer

best iphone apps
You can browse and search over 1 million palettes

Already an Apple staff favourite, ColorSchemer has become a must-have iPhone app for designers. You can browse and search over 1 million palettes created and shared by COLOURlovers members as well as connecting with the COLOURlovers community.

08. The Font Game

best iphone apps
One for all you creatives that think you know typography like the back of your hand

One for all you creatives that think you know typography like the back of your hand. From the makers of I Love Typography comes The Font Game - the smash hit rapid-fire typeface-identifying game. Train your eyes by identifying more than 1000 font samples, and play quickly to secure a spot on the Hall of Fame!

09. Behance

best iphone apps
The app offers the ultimate mobile portfolio that seamlessly syncs with your Behance projects

The Behance Network app for iPhone allows you to explore millions of creative projects by the world’s top creative talent. The app also offers the ultimate mobile portfolio that seamlessly syncs with your Behance projects. Behance’s team of curators feature new work every day from top portfolios in the fields of design.

10. Webr

best iphone apps
Create blogs and full-working websites that are viewable in any browser

This is the app for you web designers out there. Webr helps you create, publish and edit, dynamic websites from your iPhone or your iPod touch. Using their intuitive themes, you can create, not just blogs but full working websites, viewable in any browser on the computer.

11. The Typography Manual

Typography Manual
There are neat little tools such as an Em Calculator for scalable web type, and a font-size ruler.

A valuable reference resource for anyone passionate about working with type, complete with practical hints and tips for setting text, working with special characters and getting to grips with the terminology involved. There are also neat little tools such as an Em Calculator for scalable web type, and a font-size ruler.

12. myPANTONE

MyPantone
You can use it to match hues from photos, generate harmonious colour palettes and then share them

This official app from the undisputed kings of colour acts as a digital swatch book, including over 13,000 colours from the Pantone Plus Series and beyond. You can use it to match hues from photos, generate harmonious colour palettes and then share them, or synch them with your design software programs of choice.

13. iDesign

iDesign
iDesign features a unique offset drawing tool that enables you to draw accurately with a fingertip

Dubbed a “precision 2D vector drawing and design” app, iDesign features a unique offset drawing tool that enables you to draw accurately with a fingertip without blocking your own view. It features advanced point and shape editing functionality, and is well suited to drawing on the move.

14. Omnifocus

Omnifocus
OmniFocus has continued to develop and packs plenty of features

Having scooped the Apple Design Award for best productivity app when the iPhone App Store first launched, OmniFocus has continued to develop and packs plenty of features into its simple, intuitive interface. There’s a high price tag, but it’s invaluable for organising all your daily tasks in one place.

15. Cinemagram

Cinemagram
Move over, Instagram: this nifty little app enables you to bridge the gap between photography and motion

Move over, Instagram: this nifty little app enables you to bridge the gap between photography and motion from the comfort of your iPhone, by animating sections of an image and then applying vintage filters to add that hipster edge, before sharing your creations across social media.

16. Harvest

Harvest
Time is money. Track it wisely.

This app’s tagline says it all: “Time is money. Track it wisely.” Both its design and function are simple but effective, based around large stopwatch-style timers for particular project tasks, linked up to billable hours, timesheets and expenses - so you can keep track of those necessary evils of freelance life on the move.

17. Palettes

Palettes
The initial free app can be upgraded to Basic or Pro versions for full functionality

This is a great way to create and manage colour palettes to use in your design work, whenever and wherever inspiration strikes. You can sample colours from images, websites or whatever you can find, as well as adding them manually. The initial free app can be upgraded to Basic or Pro versions for full functionality.

18. Todo

Todo
Organise your projects into various related checklists

This particular task management tool is rather well connected, offering synchronisation with Dropbox, iCal, Outlook, iCloud and also its own Todo Online service. Organise your projects into various related checklists, map deadlines onto your calendar and keep on top of every aspect of your working life.

19. What The Font

What the font
This rather handy app will attempt to identify any typeface based on a snapshot

Making use of the font identification engine on global type library MyFonts, this rather handy app will attempt to identify any typeface based on a snapshot on your iPhone, and then links through to further information and purchasing info. Of course, it can sometimes miss the mark - but when it works it’s fantastically useful.

20. Mill Colour

Mill Colour
Mill colour manipulates your source image to help you replicate the look of a high-end digital suite

This photo-grading tool feeds years of experience from colourists at leading Soho-based visual effects house The Mill into one free app. Rather than applying a grading filter, it manipulates your source image to help you replicate the kind of look and feel that might be achieved in a high-end digital suite.

Next: Apps for photo editing, mindmapping, productivity and more!

21. TypeDrawing

TypeDrawing
There are various fonts to choose from, and you can export the results to work on them further

This one’s just bit of fun really: you just type a sentence to use as a starting point, and then draw with your finger to create pieces of typographic artwork. There are various fonts to choose from, and you can export the results to work on them further.

22. Hipstamatic

Hipstamatic
A beautifully designed photography app that enables you to switch lenses, film and flash settings

Riding the crest of the current trend for retro, analogue aesthetics, this is a beautifully designed photography app that enables you to switch lenses, film and flash settings to create and share highly stylised images. It’s also highly expandable, with a broad range of special packs available for in-app purchase.

23. iBlueSky

iBlueSky
This handy app is about gathering your thoughts down and making sense of them

However cynical you might be about the buzzphrase ‘blue sky thinking’, this genuinely handy app is about getting your thoughts down and making sense of them. Sketch out notes and ideas and link them together in a digital ‘mind map’ that you can then save and share with colleagues.

24. NightCamera

NightCamera
This nifty app taps into the phone’s accelerometer to detect when the camera is steady

While your iPhone camera is able to produce some half-decent images in standard light, the slow lens means that it generally performs badly in low light conditions, and blurs easily. This nifty app taps into the phone’s accelerometer to detect when the camera is steady and improve quality.

25. Adobe Photoshop Express

Adobe Photoshop Express
Photoshop Express has some useful tools for photo-manipulation

While many of the Touch suite are arguably best suited to iPad, Photoshop Express  - though not to be compared with Photoshop CS6 - has some useful tools for photo-manipulation on the go that can be just as valuable on iPhone - including filters, effects and basic editing tools. There are also several expansion packs, ranging from £1.49 to £2.99.

26. Visualator

Visualator
A free creative tool from our sister magazine, Computer Arts

A free creative tool from our sister magazine, Computer Arts, Visualator features two innovative tools - Gradulate and Triangulate - with which you can easily create striking abstract imagery with your fingertips. It was built entirely in Flash CS5 as a showcase of what’s possible with the platform.

27. photoCalculator

PhotoCalculator
This highly practical tool can function as a standalone calculator

This highly practical tool can function as a standalone calculator, but as the name implies it really comes into its own for photographers - with tools for working out how many raw captures you can fit on a card, timelapse settings, hyperfocal distances and more.

28. Action Method

ActionMethod
This app is all about maximising your productivity

Just one part of a whole suite of Action Method products from the mighty Behance Network, this app is all about maximising your productivity - and syncs with its web-based equivalent, Action Method Online. Tasks can be filtered according to project, due date and so on, and even delegated to your contacts.

29. ColorToy

ColorToy
Generate complementary shades based on a key colour

This is another invaluable tool for anyone who works with colour schemes regularly - whether for graphic design, web design or illustration. Generate complementary shades based on a key colour; cherry-pick your favourite colours from photographs; and collate and manage your favourite palettes in scrapbooks for later reference.

30. Clear

Clear
An elegantly designed task management app that strips everything right back to basics

An elegantly designed task management app that strips everything right back to basics with an interface that’s based around colour-coded strips and instinctive, iPhone-native gestures to create and manage your to-do list. Pull to add a new item, swipe to complete, and pinch to compress the list - very satisfying to use.

Written By Nick Carson and Sammy Maine

Have we missed YOUR favourite iPhone app? Tell us about it in the Comments below!

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