In today’s fast-paced digital environment, staying current with the latest technological tools is not just a perk for digital designers — it’s a necessity. Whether you’re designing for web, print, or mobile, having the right tech at your fingertips can make all the difference between a smooth creative process and one that’s frustratingly slow.
Investing in tools, from software which will improve your creative skills to gear that can speed up your workflow, is a great way to work smarter, not harder. But we get it — with such a large range of tools on the market, it can be difficult to know what’s worth the investment.
In this article, we take a closer look at the 6 essential technological investments you should consider as a digital designer, so read on to find out more!
1. Image Editors: Your Creative Assistants
No digital designer can function without a top-notch image editing tool. Whether you’re working on branding, UI design, or digital art, having software that allows you to create, modify, and perfect images is essential.
For design and photo editing, Adobe Photoshop still holds the crown with its versatility and industry-standard capabilities. With powerful features such as layer masks, colour grading, and content-aware fill, this tool is capable of streamlining even the most complex edits. But if you want something that is more intuitive and affordable, an online image editor like Adobe Express is a great choice due to its user-friendliness.
What image editor you choose depends on your workflow. Designers who want everything to be pixel perfect might opt for the high-end power of Photoshop. Alternatively, if you’re in need of quick mockups and social media graphics, Adobe Express and similar alternatives might be a better choice. Regardless of which you choose, a solid image editor is a must-have in any digital designer’s arsenal, giving you the freedom to bring your creative ideas to life.
2. Vector Graphics Software: Precision is Key
When it comes to designing logos, icons, or scalable graphics, vector-based design software is a must-have. Adobe Illustrator has long been the go-to, providing an exceptionally high level of control over paths, anchor points and shapes and enabling you to craft accurate designs that are infinitely scalable. This software is often the best choice if you have to produce highly detailed graphics that are capable of being compressed all the way down to a business card or expanded up to a billboard.
Alternatively, there are some similar (non-subscription) tools available on the market that can help you do this. For most industry-leading software like Photoshop or Illustrator, you can also easily find courses that help you get to grips with the platforms and further strengthen your design skills. The key is finding software that offers the precision and flexibility needed to ensure your designs translate perfectly across different mediums and platforms. Proficiency with industry-leading software will also look great on any designer CV or resume!
3. High-Performance Computers: Power Your Workflow
As talented as you may be as a designer, slow obsolete hardware can absolutely destroy your creative flow. We’ve all been there — you’re in the middle of a design and all of a sudden, your computer becomes unresponsive. Oh, the horror.
A high-performance computer is essential for running heavy-duty software like Adobe Creative Cloud or 3D rendering programs without lag. Regardless of whether you’re on Team Mac or PC, the thing that matters the most is having enough RAM, and a fast processor with a high end graphics card (GPU). A monitor with high resolution and a high frame rate is also advised for those looking to edit videos – here, we recommend looking at monitor certifications like NVIDIA G-Sync (for NVIDIA graphics card compatibility) or AMD FreeSync certified monitor models. Your RAM, GPU, monitor specs work together to manage large design files and complex layers with ease, making your workflow much smoother and reducing the likelihood of frustrating crashes.
Apple’s MacBook Pro is a favourite among creatives for its Retina display and seamless integration with Adobe products. Alternatively, Dell’s XPS line and Microsoft’s own Surface Studio are excellent choices for those who prefer Windows, as they both offer exceptional displays with powerful hardware to back it up. Investing in a high-performance computer may feel like a steep expense initially, but the time you’ll save in avoiding system slowdowns and rendering bottlenecks is WELL worth it.
4. Drawing Tablets: A Seamless Design Experience
Though using a mouse and keyboard works in a pinch, nothing beats the precision of a drawing tablet when it comes to sketching, editing and designing. In fact, being able to use digital design hardware and software is often regarded to be an important tech skill for many types of professionals today – not just designers!
Tablets like Wacom Intuos or Cintiq series enable designers to draw by hand, edit vectors and add small details with a stroke of a pen. A stylus allows you to take advantage of the tactile feedback and pressure sensitivity that mimic the feeling of working with traditional media, providing a natural extension of your hand when illustrating or fine-tuning your designs.
For those who prefer a more integrated experience, Apple’s iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil has quickly gained popularity in the design community. With apps like Procreate and Adobe Fresco, the iPad is an all-in-one on-the-go solution for illustrators and designers. Regardless of which option you choose, the investment in a drawing tablet is one that will certainly pay off by elevating your craft and expanding your creative possibilities.
5. Font Management Tools: Organise Your Typefaces
Typography is key in digital design — afterall, you are working with hundreds (if not thousands) of fonts and organising them can quickly turn into a nightmare. This is where font management tools can be a lifesaver: they help designers organise, preview and activate fonts on-demand so that your workflow is as quick and efficient as possible while assuring your designs remain consistent.
Having quick access to your font library helps you try out different styles without the endless folder browsing, which can waste a surprising amount of time when working across more complex design projects like website building. These tools also help you maintain sanity because they are able to help prevent font conflicts or missing files when transferring projects between computers. In short, investing in font management software might not feel super important, but it can save you hours of frustration down the road and ensure your designs always look polished.
6. Cloud Storage: Keep Your Designs Safe & Accessible
Finally, in a world where collaboration is becoming more frequent and files are growing larger, cloud storage is an investment digital designers can’t ignore.
Google Drive, Dropbox and Adobe Creative Cloud are some tools that make it possible for designers to save their work in a secure location and continue editing whenever needed, even on the other side of the world. This is especially awesome for freelancers and remote design teams — it allows you to share files quickly without compatibility issues or file-size limitations.
In addition to the accessibility, cloud storage also offers reassurance that you will never lose your work. Losing files due to a hard drive failure is every designer’s nightmare, but with cloud storage you can schedule automatic backups for your designs and never lose them again. Additionally, collaborative features mean you can easily receive feedback or changes from your team, without having to exchange dozens of emails.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the right design tools are like an extension of your creative mind. Choosing the right technology to invest in is not just about staying up-to-date with standards — it’s also about empowering yourself and enabling new possibilities that make your work stand out. The right investments ensure that inspiration never gets bogged down by technical woes. And similarly, the right design tools can also aid in further maximising the value of your company’s or client’s design assets, as all your logos, vector images, custom fonts and all the other elements of your brand guidelines can be adapted for whatever design materials you’re looking to make, and whichever platform you want them published on.
Like in any other industry, however, digital design technologies are constantly in development as well, which means there are always tools and capabilities to discover. The key is to find the tools that integrate with your workflow and way of doing things. Finding the right tools now will help set you up for a lucrative career and a dynamic career portfolio.
