6+ Things in my Creative Tool Kit
Every creative or business owner has a tool kit of must have items that make their process and every day life easier. Here’s a look into the things that make the wheels keep turning in my business.
Apple Notepad:
Devices used on: iPhone, iPad Pro, Mac
This is like my holy freaking grail. I know it’s veryyyy simple, and honestly I’ve tried to download other note apps but I always come back to this one. It’s so easy to open and it sync’s to all of my devices. I also love using it on the go because it’s easy to write down or sketch an idea. If I do a quick sketch, I’ll use the markup tool inside of the notepad with my finger to draw and then I can come back to it later for reference. It’s like the only thing I have ever used since I was a teen writing lyrics on my ipod touch (lol), anyone else?
Procreate:
Devices used on: iPad Pro
This app has changed the game for me. I love being able to sketch ideas or create custom illustrated icons and graphics. I typically start on procreate and then bring the file into Adobe Illustrator to bring the sketch to life in a vector form. I recently used my iPad Pro to create some elements for one of my recent projects: Sammi Social Branding
Full-page Screen Capture:
Devices used on: Mac
This is a google chrome extension, and I use to to capture full screenshots of websites that I design or any other project I’m working that needs a full-page screen capture. It’s such a handy tool! Get it here
Eye Dropper:
Devices used on: Mac
This is another google chrome extension. This tool has been a life-saver while designing websites and such. It’s so much easier than having to go to adobe every single time and check the color codes. I’d recommend double checking to make sure the color is perfect, but usually it’s spot on! It’s also helpful if you see a color you love in the wild on the internet and want to grab the color code for it! Get it here
Asana:
Devices used on: iPad, iPhone, Mac
This site/app is my entire life, haha. If it’s not in my Asana it doesn’t exist (just kidding). But seriously, there’s so many ways you can use this tool but I use it in a very specific way. I’d love to do another post or video going in depth about how I use this tool in my business and how I stay organized. Leave a comment down below if you’d be interested in that!
Toggl:
Devices used on: iPad, iPhone, Mac
I use this to time track some of my projects. It’s great if you’re trying to figure out how long a task will take you but I also use it for specific clients I work for that are based on an hourly rate. Toggl has features to calculate that rate by how much time you spend in their premium version. The other thing I love about this tool is that it creates downloadable reports for you based on how much time you spent on that particular ‘client or project’, It’s so much easier than creating it yourself. So simple to download and attach to an email to send to your client or employer.
Other basic stuff I use: Just another few very common tools I love using.
Planoly - I just recently switch from Buffer to planoly to schedule all of my social media posts!
Google suite - I absolutely love this for sharing documents with clients or just for personal use. I typically use Google drive, docs, and sheets the most.
Fresh Books - I use this for client invoicing, makes the process so simple & easy for them.
Momentum - This is another chrome extension (haha), and it’s a dashboard that gives you gorgeous photos and a daily quote. You can also customize it to see the temperature, have a to-do list and a daily objective.
Google/apple Calendar - I actually couldn’t live without this, makes it so easy to schedule meetings with clients and or share a calendar.
Adobe Creative Cloud - The programs I use the most are Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. I also sometimes use Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.
Google Chrome - I love google chrome! Especially because it’s something else that sync’s on my devices. I enjoy the chrome extensions a lot and it plays a huge part in my process.
Slack - Such a great tool if you’re a part of a team or community. I don’t use this as much these days, but would highly recommend.