10 Apps every Designer Should Have
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10 Apps every Designer Should Have
- 2. Apps vs. Applications FUNCTION App = Software designed for a single purpose and performs a single function. Application = Software designed to perform a variety of functions. VALUE Apps = If an app stops working, it sucks, but life goes on. Applications = If your application stops working, it likely causes you to stop working.
- 3. First, Let’s Talk Google 0 Google Apps
- 4. #1 Facetime 0 FaceTime lets you make video calls over Wi-Fi. 0 Use the front camera to talk face-to-face; back camera to share what you see around you. The person you call must also have an iOS device or computer that works with FaceTime.
- 5. 0 Tap icon 0 Choose contact to call 0 Rings like phone call 0 Videoconference
- 6. #2 iBooks One of the apps that come with the iPad. Use like a kindle AND • Store catalogs • Price lists • Floor plans • Portfolio iPad Native App
- 7. iBooks
- 9. PDF Expert 0 Text fields – tap on the active area of the field to type in the text. 0 Checkbox and radio button – tap the appropriate box to make a selection. 0 Drop-down list – tap to reveal the list and pick the item. 0 Number fields and calculation – type the appropriate numbers in the form fields and the calculations will be processed automatically. 0 Date field – tap the field with the appropriate format and select the date from the keyboard. 0 Time field – tap the field with the appropriate format and select the date fromthe keyboard.
- 10. PDF Expert 0 Signature field - tap it and select a signature type you want to use. 0 My Signature is a regular signature that is saved within PDF Expert and can be reused later. Customer Signature is created from the start every time you use it.
- 11. PDF Expert 0 To create a signature you need: 0 Tap and hold on the place where you want to place your signature. 0 Select 'Signature' and tap 'My Signature'. 0 Create own signature using your finger and tap 'Save' button. 0 After your signature is added to the document, you can move it, resize or even change the color of the signature. 1. 2. 3.
- 12. EMAIL OPEN IN
- 15. Turn on Thumbnail and List for convenient overview: To switch between the views: • Swipe down from the top to reveal the sorting toolbar • Toggle the view mode using the buttons in the upper right corner.
- 16. #4 Watermarking Photos 0 Photomarkr 0 iWatermark
- 17. Watermarks
- 18. #5 Dropbox 0 Free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. 2 G FREE 0 Any file you save to your Dropbox will save to all your computers, phones with Dropbox on it 0 Gateway to Tablets and Devices 0 If your computer has a meltdown, your stuff is safe in Dropbox and can be restored in a snap.
- 19. Share with Dropbox • Clients • Team members • Collaborators • Subcontractors Don’t need to have an account Make a link to files or folders in your Dropbox and share your photos, docs, presentations, and videos - even if they don't have Dropbox. Add other members to a folder You can share any folder in your Dropbox or create a new shared folder from the Dropbox website
- 20. #6 Pen Ultimate • Natural note taking app, just like pen and paper. 0 •Have as many “notebooks” as you want 0 •Print and share 0 •Store in device • Import images
- 21. PenUltimate
- 22. 0 Keep track of your hours and earnings 0 Set up as many jobs as you need, then clock in and out of them and let HoursTracker take care of the rest. 0 Or enter time worked in the past (or future!) quickly and easily. 0 Keep tabs on your time and earnings with built-in reports, or import your data into a spreadsheet and crunch some numbers your own way. #7 HoursTracker $2.99
- 23. HoursTracker
- 24. Logs and Reports
- 25. #8 Magic Plan EVERYONE CAN CREATE A FLOOR PLAN IN FEW MINUTES
- 26. Magic Plan
- 27. Magic Plan
- 29. Morpholio Board
- 31. #10 ProHDR $1.99
- 33. #11 Color 911 0 Color 911® helps you create your own colors, select colors from themes or photos, combine colors to create your own palettes, organize colors into folders, share or email to designers, friends or family, and so much more! Created by a recognized color consultant, there are more than 50 downloadable color themes. Each theme has 42 different colors; every theme includes colors that work together for whatever your color needs are: 0 FINDING YOUR COLORS is easy – Use designer color themes, create your own color on the color wheel, select colors from an Internet or from a snapshot . 0 EDIT your colors on your palettes to adjust hue, saturation or brightness. You can reorder your color selection, change color themes, lock in a color, duplicate a palette, with name modification and select colors from a photo. 0 BUILD your personal palette library and create folders using the palette preview tool, which makes organization easy
- 34. Color 911
- 35. Chief Architect Room Planner
- 38. #12- Square/ Go Free/ PayPal
- 39. Comparison Intuit PayPal Square Build Quality Best Plastic-y; Doesn't fit well Better-Works with device cases; but finicky Features Backed by Intuit Invoice Options Add checks Easy access to account Detects Cards Simple Straightforward Access to Money 1-3 business days Instantly 1-3 business days Fees 2.75 % on all swipes OR Monthly plan of $13 drops swipe rate to 1.75 %. ($1500) extra fees of up to 15 cents per transaction if you pay with a rewards card 2.75 % on all sales OR pay $275 a month for 0 percent as long as the item price doesn’t exceed $400. ($10,000) Support Offers phone and email support, as well as a knowledgebase Offers phone and email support, as well as a knowledgebase No Phone support; offers a Twitter account
- 40. #13 iHandy Carpenter There are 5 tools in this Carpenter tool kit: - A plumb bob, the easiest way for you to verify the verticality of lines or walls - A surface level, the best tool to level any flat surface - A bubble level bar, exactly as you can see in carpenter tool kit shops, and more beautiful! - A steel protractor, measuring angles from 0 to 180 degrees. - A steel ruler, supporting both inches and centimeters. By swiping it left and right, the ruler is capable to measure things much longer than your iPhone! - Once calibrated, the plumb bob, surface level and level bar can also be used as an inclinometer/clinometer by reading the angles on the screen.
- 41. #14 Waterlogue
- 44. #15 Word Swag
- 45. #16 Canva
- 46. Canva
- 47. #17 Note Taking Apps Good Notes Notability Notes Plus Note Taker HD
- 48. Area writing in Magnification Area Advance when write in green area 1. 2. 3. Ink or Type 4. Palm Rest
- 49. #18 Adornably
- 50. #19 Palette App
- 51. #20 Parlore
- 52. 3 Months FREE Beta Beginning January 2015 Sign up at www.parlore.com and click the SIGN UP button
- 53. Upcoming Webinars November 12, 2014- Crafting Your Soft Identity December 8, 2014- Build Your own Private Label Collection Visit www.softdesignlab.com and click on SHOP
- 54. Take Ten First Look at High Point Fall Market This Week’s Take Ten: First Look at High Point Fall Market RSVP at www.softdesignlab.com and click on Take Ten
- 55. Up Coming Events Online / In Person iPad for Design Pros- Beyond the Basics .3 CEUs November 3, 2014 Digital Designer @ Designology Design and Construction Week- Monday, January 19, 2015 World Tour: Smart Designs from the World’s Top Markets Las Vegas Market- Wednesday, January 21, 2015 Get More Details at www.debbarrett.com ANNOUNCING…. First Time Buyer’s Tour to High Point- April 17-22, 2015 to get on the list email Deb at deb@debbarrett.com
Editor's Notes
- Function A blog post from Tahoe Partners about a round table discussion at the Gartner Portals, Content and Collaboration Summit held last year highlighted one way to differentiate apps vs. applications. According to the post by David Sidwell, the expert roundtable consensus was that the difference centered around functionality. App = Software designed for a single purpose and performs a single function. Application = Software designed to perform a variety of functions. So for example, I have the Yahoo! app on my phone. When I tap it on my phone, it performs the singular task of opening the Safari browser and directs me to Yahoo’s mobile-optimized website. Once on their website, I have access to the Yahoo! application, where I perform lots of different functions from searching the Internet to accessing my email. However, form factor can play an important role. As one of our super-smart TrackVia mobile engineers pointed out to me, many “apps” today leverage a key piece of technology that’s unique to a mobile device or just more natural to use with a phone or tablet. For example, TrackVia’s mobile app is optimized to take advantage of key components of mobile devices. Value Although probably a little dated, another way I’ve heard people distinguishing apps vs. applications is value. Some suggest that apps just feel less valuable — disposable even. If an app doesn’t work or you don’t need it, you simply delete it. But if an application doesn’t work, well, life becomes a little more difficult. Apps = If an app stops working, it sucks, but life goes on. Applications = If your application stops working, it likely causes you to stop working. Using the Yahoo! example again, if for some reason my Yahoo! app (that opens my browser and takes me to their mobile site) stops working, no biggy. Although way less convenient, I can easily open Safari on my phone and type in Yahoo!’s URL. But if Yahoo!’s website and application go down, I lose my ability to search and check my email — and that’s not good. This subtle and subjective distinction that apps are somehow less valuable is probably why they’re often free. In a recent report by Gartner, the analyst firm estimated that by 2017 94.5 percent of all mobile app downloads will be free. Of course, Google is mostly free and I use it for search, email, documents and a half dozen other important things at work and in my personal life. Still, I know personally that I pause when there’s a price associated with an app I’m about to download to my phone — even at $0.99. Maybe my expectations are just different. I expect apps to be free, whereas I expect to pay for applications. And if my expectations are different, then there must be some difference between apps vs. applications — real or just perceived. Activity Type Even more uncommon, I have on occasion heard debates in small circles arguing that “apps” are things that people generally use for leisure. Things like games, chatting and sharing with friends, browsing and so forth. Applications on the other hand are things that people do “real work” with. Things like sending emails, collecting or manipulating data, buying or selling. This may have been more true in the early days, but I don’t think it passes the sniff test. Still, it’s one you may hear from time to time. Why this matters By now, you’re probably asking yourself, “Why does this matter?” It’s a fair question. As I eluded to earlier, I think it matters because when it comes to software or technology, people’s expectations matter. Your expectations matter. Your employees’ expectations matter. Your customers’ expectations matter. And if you have similar expectations from apps and applications, you may be setting yourself up to be disappointed, frustrated, or just downright angry. In the end, you can differentiate between apps vs. applications anyway you like. I think what matters most is to understand and do your best to clearly define what you’re trying to do, whether it’s with an app or application. Spending a little time doing this upfront will give you a clear use case. And with a clear use case in mind, you can better define what you expect your app or application to actually do. These are just my thoughts on the topic of apps vs. applications. What do you think? Is there a difference between apps vs. applications, and does it matter? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Written by Charles Var
- The person you call must also have an iOS device or computer that works with FaceTime.
- When will the tipping point occur for real sample books. Robert Allen is doing digital sampling- even the most critical designers of digital are finding that they can certainly use it as a starting point with their clients With sampling cost huge, waste and social conscious decorator needs to start moving toward it. One way is to start collecting digital catalogs, e books, support manuals etc and storing them on tablet
- PDF Expert 5 is a must-have app for anyone who reads, annotates or edits PDF documents on iPad or iPhone. It allows you to mark up documents with highlights and handwriting, insert text and stamps, sign and even merge PDFs. Moreover, PDF Expert is the best choice for filling out PDF forms right on your iPad and iPhone. “PDF Expert 5 leapfrogs the competition” - AppStorm "PDF Expert is one of my must-have iPad apps and […] a desktop-class PDF reader that I’ve been using every week for the past three years.” - MacStories.net "PDF Expert is better in almost every way than every other iPad PDF app we tried.” - The Sweet Setup You can open various file formats such as iWork, MS Office, Power Point, text files, images, even music and video files, etc. Get these files from desktop computers, email attachments, documents on Dropbox, OneDrive, GoogleDocs and “Open in" from other applications. PDF Expert 5 provides the best experience for filling out PDF forms. Text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons and other form elements work as you expect and all the information you enter is saved within the form. Even complex interactive forms with Javascript work impressively well. With PDF Expert 5 you can: - Highlight Text - Mark important things in books, journals or documents you want to review. - Fill Forms - Work with static PDF forms created in Adobe Acrobat. - Create Notes - Add comments to the texts you read. - Draw with your finger- Use it to make handwritten notes or highlight text in scanned books. - Make Bookmarks - Create table of contents for your document right on iPad and iPhone. - Review Documents - Mark up errors and place special emphasis on important sentences. - Sign Contracts - Additional types of PDF annotations are coming in the next updates. Other things PDF Expert 5 lets you do: + Read PDFs with ease PDF Expert has one of the best PDF viewers for iPad and iPhone. It opens large files, supports full text search, handles PDF links and outlines, opens password-protected documents and extracts text from PDFs. + Copy Files From Mac or PC via Wi-Fi and USB Use iTunes file sharing to transfer files directly to your iPad or iPhone via USB cable. As an alternative connect your iOS device running PDF Expert via Wi-Fi and operate it like a wireless flash drive. No additional software is required. + Save Email Attachments Open attachments directly from the Mail app. Also, you can open PDF files from any other application on the iPad or iPhone via "Open In..." dialogue. + Sync your files with various cloud services PDF Expert allows you to download and upload files from Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive and other services. If you use more than one cloud storage, PDF Expert 5 will handle all of them. + Share Files With Your Friends Email files directly from PDF Expert 5 with all annotations you made. + Protect Documents with Password and Encryption Restrict access to PDF Expert 5 with a password to protect your files from unauthorized reading. Enable iOS Data Protection to encrypt everything while your iPad or iPhone is not in use. + Text To Speech Now you can listen to e-books or audio files on the road or when you don’t feel like reading. PDF Expert 5 intelligently processes PDF books and uses iOS7 text- to-speech API to read them aloud.
- Fill out sales agreements, job applications, travel visas, invoices and order forms. Complete college applications and test forms. Finalize completed forms with signature and stamps Email or print filled forms right from within the app You can type text, select items from drop-down lists, use check boxes, add images to the fields, make calculations and even sign forms with a personal free-hand signature. Filling in the form fields: Text fields – tap on the active area of the field to type in the text. Checkbox and radio button – tap the appropriate box to make a selection. Drop-down list – tap to reveal the list and pick the item. Note: You can disable Highlight form fields toggle under Settings > PDF Viewer to hide the square around the field. Number fields and calculation – type the appropriate numbers in the form fields and the calculations will be processed automatically. Date field – tap the field with the appropriate format and select the date from the keyboard below. Time field – tap the field with the appropriate format and select the date from the keyboard below. Signature field - tap it and select a signature type you want to use. My Signature is a regular signature that is saved within PDF Expert and can be reused later. Customer Signature is created from the start every time you use it.
- Add up to 4 signatures PDF Expert allows saving up to 4 personal signatures. To add another signature or edit signature
- Tap "pencil" icon on the top to reveal annotation menu. Select "Signature" icon on the bottom. To add one more signature tap "Picture" icon and Add new Signature. Customer signature Ask your customers to sign a document using the 'Customer Signature'. The customer signature is never saved in the application. Tap and hold on the place where you want your customer to sign. Select 'Customer Signature'. Ask the customer to sign the document using their finger. This option is convenient when you don't want to change or remove your own signature
- Email attachments from Mail application can be saved to PDF Expert using the 'Open In' function: 1. Open your email with the attachment in Mail app. 2. Tap and hold your finger on the attachment. 3. Select PDF Expert 5 from the list. Save PDFs from other iPad apps Use 'Open In' feature to save files from other applications like Safari, Dropbox, Evernote into PDF Expert: 1. Tap the 'Action' button in the appropriate app. 2. Select 'Open In'. 3. Tap PDF Expert 5 on the popover Access documents on Dropbox, Google Drive and other services. If you use Dropbox, Google Drive, or an FTP/SFTP server, you can easily save files from these cloud services to PDF Expert: 1. Tap 'Network' on the grey navigation bar on the left and tap the 'Add' button. 2. Choose the online storage and sign in using your login and password. 3. Tap 'Save' and your storage becomes accessible via the Network tab. 4. Tap any document to save it locally to your device and open it for reading. Tip: You can use any of these online storages to transfer files from your PC or laptop to the iPad. Copy files from locally shared devices If any devices are shared locally and displayed in PDF Expert, you can access them to copy files. Simply select any item and sign in (if necessary). Once you'll see a list of files, which are save on other device. Tap any file or files to save it locally. Copy files from locally shared devices Copy files via Browser Copy files via Browser. Tap WiFi icon in the upper right corner. Write down the url shown http://... . Open your Web browser on the desktop and type the url http:// in the address bar You'll see the list of your documents in the Web browser. You can easily upload and download files via Web browser. Did you find this tip helpful? What else would you like to know about PDF Expert? Please reply to this email to let us know your feedback, question or request. Line You receive this email because you have subscribed to Readdle emails from PDF Expert 5 app. If you don't want to receive these messages anymore, you can unsubscribe. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2013 Readdle Inc.
- Drag and Drop to manage files In both List and Thumbnail view you can arrange your files by dragging and dropping them. Tap and hold on the file or folder you’d like to move Drag the selected item above the target folder. The folder will be highlighted with the blue background. Drop the item to move it to the folder, iCloud tab or Network, recents or favorites list Copy files/folder: tap Copy and select the target folder Move files/folder between folders: tap Move and select the target folder. Rename files/folders: tap Rename. You can also rename the file by tapping its name in Thumbnail view Delete files/folders: Tap Delete or drag the file to Drop here to delete button
- Add annotations To start annotating the PDF document tap "pencil" to reveal the annotation toolbar. Then select the tool you need from the right sidebar Tap on the selection tool and select the annotations you want to edit or group a few annotation and apply actions to all annotations. Free-hand drawing, tap and select the pen and color. Tap anywhere in the document to start drawing. Typing comments anywhere in the document. It's possible to change color, font and size. Add shapes, like circle, rectangle, line or arrow. Change the color, size and line thickness. Highlight important text. Underline phases and words worth attention.Strike-out errors. Pin yellow stickers and type a note. Select the tool and tap at any place at the document to pin a note. Tap to undo/redo one or several actions. Tap and drag to replace the toolbar. The sidebar with annotation tools can be easily moved from left to right, simply tap on horizontal lines at the bottom and drag it to the right place. Markup quickly To add markups quickly, select any text: tap and drag on the text you'd like to markup. On the pop up choose the tool you need. Markup quickly Did you find this tip helpful? What else would you like to know about PDF Expert 5? Please reply to this email to let us know your feedback, question or request. Line You receive this email because you have subscribed to Readdle emails from PDF Expert 5 app. If you don't want to receive these messages anymore, you can unsubscribe. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2013 Readdle Inc.
- PhotoMarkr lets you add your personal watermark to your iPhone and iPod touch photos and screenshots.This is a great tool for all photographers who like posting their work online. Just set it up once, and then apply your watermark to any photo with the click of a button.Features:- Create a watermark from text, or import a custom watermark as an image- Position watermark anywhere on your photo- Move, rotate and resize your watermark- Change watermark transparencyPhotoMarkr always saves a full-res original, and a full-res copy of your photo with the watermark applied. iWatermark, is the only watermarking tool available for all 3 platforms, iPhone, Mac and Windows and Android. iWatermark is the most popular utility in the world to watermark photos for photographers. "With the current terms of conditions from Instagram seriously upsetting a lot of people, we thought that if nothing else it might prompt you to start watermarking your images. It’s such an important thing to do anyway and generally most professional photographers do it all the time. One app that we would recommend and one that our Columnist Kevin Kuster also recommends is iWatermark." - Joanne Carter, theappwhisperer.com 12/18/12 S
- Creating a New Penultimate Notebook To create a new Penultimate Notebook, simply tap the + icon in the lower-right corner of the Home Screen. The new Penultimate Notebook will automatically be given a default name that you may change later, and will be opened to the first blank page. Renaming a Penultimate Notebook To rename a Penultimate Notebook, simply tap its name in either the Card view or List view, then enter the new name when your iPad's keyboard is displayed. Deleting a Penultimate Notebook To delete a Penultimate Notebook, do the following: On the Home Screen, tap the Penultimate Notebook you want to delete. Tap the Trash icon at the bottom of the screen. Tap Delete Notebook. The corresponding note in your Evernote account will also be deleted. You may restore the note from the Trash in Evernote to continue to access it; however, there is no way to restore the Penultimate Notebook for editing in Penultimate once it is deleted. Duplicating a Penultimate Notebook To duplicate a Penultimate Notebook, do the following: On the Home Screen, tap the Notebook Action icon at the bottom-center of the screen. An options menu will be displayed. Tap Duplicate. A dialog with all of your Penultimate Notebooks will be displayed. Tap the Penultimate Notebook you want to duplicate. The new notebook will have the same name as the original with a number appended.
- Magic Plan MEASURES your rooms and DRAWS your floor plan just by taking pictures. You can then get your floor plan in PDF, JPG and DXF format or publish an INTERACTIVE FLOOR PLAN on the web. With Magic Plan, EVERYONE CAN CREATE A FLOOR PLAN IN FEW MINUTES ONLY. additional information about the floor plan for professional usage. MagicPlan 3.5 helps capture additional elements at the site using “smart objects”: • Each object added to the floor plan (an electrical object, a piece of furniture or a structural element) can be assigned a comment, a picture and specific attributes. These specific attributes can be customized, and may include the price, the sku number, or even a specific Q&A. • An annotation can be placed on the floor plan and can include a photo and a comment. Either general or specific annotations can be used; such as "to do's", shapes (circle and rectangle), and more.
- Board, an essential part of any creative process or presentation, allows users to effortlessly layout, collage and illustrate with a series of photos, images, sketches and annotations to generate beautiful and informative boards that are easy to share. Morpholio Board is ideal for designers, architects, photographers, artists, or members of any creative culture. It is the unique board utility that allows you to easily build custom layouts, communicate via
- Color 911 Color 911® helps you create your own colors, select colors from themes or photos, combine colors to create your own palettes, organize colors into folders, share or email to designers, friends or family, and so much more! Created by a recognized color consultant, there are more than 50 downloadable color themes. Each theme has 42 different colors; every theme includes colors that work together for whatever your color needs are: • FINDING YOUR COLORS is easy – Use designer color themes, create your own color on the color wheel, select colors from an Internet or from a snapshot . • EDIT your colors on your palettes to adjust hue, saturation or brightness. You can reorder your color selection, change color themes, lock in a color, duplicate a palette, with name modification and select colors from a photo. • BUILD your personal palette library and create folders using the palette preview tool, which makes organization easy
- Figuring out which card reader is “right” for you depends on all of the features already mentioned so far. Do you need money the moment you swipe? Do you want a discount for high-volume selling? Do you want to scan checks? Does build quality matters? These questions are just a few of the many you may ask yourself when figuring out which reader to grab, but in the end they all are solid choices for the businessperson, whether they be for once-in-a-while purchases or serious sales volume. The extra features and quick access to your cash makes PayPal Here outweigh Intuit’s GoPayment to us, but GoPayment has a solid pricing structure, too. Square’s pricing structure is a little irrelevant, and its software is pretty simplistic, but you can’t deny the iconic and easy access it offers. With all these thoughts in mind, go out and grab whichever one you feel is best for you. If you don’t like it, an alternative reader is just a simple form or rebate away! Personally, we highly recommend the PayPal Here’s versatility in software, as well as the Intuit GoPayment’s price structure and build quality. Good luck finding the right one for you! Update: 8/2/13 – It has come to our attention that Intuit has instated additional fees that are not made clear upon sign-up. If you serve a credit card that Intuit deems to be a rewards card, or an American Express Card, there may be an additional charge of up to 15 cents per transaction. These cards are classified by Intuit as “Non-Qualified” cards. Please read here for full details (scroll down to “important disclosures”). Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/square-vs-intuit-gopayment-vs-paypal-here-mobile-credit-card-processors/#ixzz2mTkPtbts Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook
- There are 5 tools in this Carpenter tool kit: - A plumb bob, the easiest way for you to verify the verticality of lines or walls - A surface level, the best tool to level any flat surface - A bubble level bar, exactly as you can see in carpenter tool kit shops, and more beautiful! - A steel protractor, measuring angles from 0 to 180 degrees. - A steel ruler, supporting both inches and centimeters. By swiping it left and right, the ruler is capable to measure things much longer than your iPhone! - Once calibrated, the plumb bob, surface level and level bar can also be used as an inclinometer/clinometer by reading the angles on the screen.
- Waterlogue- Release the Artist in You Capitalize on the popularity of artisan looks and create watercolors of your projects without ever having to pick up a paint brush. I love what it can do to my before/after pictures and portfolio. There are a variety of ways to customize a Waterlogue image – use a variety of presets or a few key settings- to quickly and easily capture the spirit of your subject. The result is an app that can turn any snapshot into a luminous, lively watercolor sketch. And it’s highly accessible: the presets are based on painting styles. Thanks to Maison21 for turning me onto this app!
- Canva new online tool that aims to lower the barrier of entry to graphic design, allowing anyone (from professional designers to novices) to design projects including business cards, presentations, blog graphics and posters, with an easy-to-use interface and a vast library of fonts and images. The twelve-person team based in Sydney, Australia, has been developing the technology over the past year leading up to the release of the public beta on August 26, and has already raised over $3million in seed funding. Critics may be concerned that Canva will devalue the work of professional designers, but the tool is not intended to replace designers, or professional design software such as Adobe Creative Suite. Rather, the platform allows users who don’t have the resources or sufficient need to purchase design software, to create more sophisticated designs than they would otherwise be able to, using (nearly) fool-proof layout tools and a library of images, fonts and graphic elements. For professional designers, the draw is the collaborative aspect, which would allow easy sharing and editing of designs which have been fine-tuned using pro software.
- IAfter downloading Adornably and creating a free account, you can lay any magazine on the floor of a room and Adornably will use it to scale a virtual image of that room in your iPad. Then wait a few moments for the screen to scan over it, and see that magazine tagged with a green circle on the screen. Next, you can take photos–to be used to add furniture to at a later time–or pull some from the Adornably catalog to allow it to virtually exist in the room. So if you think that is cool… you can move the furniture around in the room with your finger! FREEkea started it; now Adornly is expanding it. Using augmented reality, this unbeleive app uses a magaizine to make different pieces of furniture appear on your iPad.