Who would have thought an artist or web designer could find some functional apps for their iPhone? Different things and situations can spark an inspiration at any given time. Without losing that momentum, you can pull out your iPhone and begin working out your ideas. You could be out and about when you see this really amazing color you would like to use but by the time you would return to your computer, the exact color has vanished from your mind. This is where an app such as Loupe would come in handy. You take an image, identify the color, save the file, and you are done.
The iTunes Store continues to be flooded with new apps, but it’s hard to tell if they are well-written or suitable to your needs. Purchases add up quickly when you spend a dollar here or a couple of dollars there, so we have put together a collection of iPhone apps that work well for the graphic artist and web designer.
Layers, Gotow.net $4.99
Version released July 20, 2009
Developer’s site: http://www.layersforiphone.
Layers is a great app for the serious artist or just someone who is in the mood for a little iPhone painting. The UI is clean and easy to use. A few features include a two fingered pan and zoom, double tap to quickly move around the canvas, eight high-quality brushes, up to five paintable layers per drawing, full featured eyedropper tool, and large color picker with transparency.
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Loupe, Studio Moustache $1.99
Version released July 8, 2009
Developer’s website: http://loupeapp.com/
There is some great potential in the Loupe iPhone app. You can use your camera or photos from your library to select the colors you like and save to a swatch. Colors are identified by the HTML color code and not CYMK or RGB. Notes can be edited and swatches deleted.
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ColorToy, David Lochhead $2.99
Version released July 10, 2009
Developer’s website: http://colortoy.net/iphone/
Great for web designers, graphic artists, and anyone who loves color. ColorToy allows you to generate, modify and store color palettes.
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Color Expert, Code Line $9.99
Version released September 25, 2008
Developer’s Website: http://www.code-line.com/
It’s a little older app, but certainly a classic color wheel. Color Expert uses their exclusive “snap & tap” technology, and it is that simple. Take a picture then easily identify the colors. You can easily search through PANTONE¬Æ solid coated, PANTONE¬Æ solid uncoated, PANTONE¬Æ Goe‚Ñ¢ coated, PANTONE¬Æ Goe‚Ñ¢ uncoated, Web Safe Colors, HTML Colors. Palettes you create can be emailed from your iPhone or iPod touch.
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ZeptoPad 3.0 Vector Based Drawing Software, Ubiquitous Entertainment, Inc. $19.99
Version released on August 1, 2009
Developer’s website: http://zeptopad.com/index.html
You can draw vector images with this note and whiteboard iPhone app. It may cost more than the average, but you will see the value in the improved product and service. The folks at ZeptoPad have come a long way since releasing the first version. For starters, they have added contact info on the developer’s website (as should each and every person/ company who sells a product at the iTunes Store). New to version 3x is additional drawing tools, P2P functionality, slideshow mode, new rendering engine and more! Some fixes for version 3x include: Double the graphic resolution of character in Pen mode. Make transparent text background color of Circle and Square. Fixed text position when it begins a new line. The Snap Function was modified along with the rendering of Arrows and Connectors. Issues with importing photos was also fixed.
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iBlue Sky (mindmapping), Tenero Software Ltd $9.99
Version released May 31, 2009
developer’s website: http://www.tenero.mobi/
iBlue Sky is a great app to use when you are brainstorming or have some thoughts for projects you need to organize. It’s the next best thing to a real flow chart such as Visio. You can export in .pdf, .png, novamind, opml, and freemind. Ten dollars well spent.
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Noteit, Web Fusion Software $0.99
Version released August 12, 2009
Developer’s website: http://webfusionsoftware.co.
Organize your notes and projects easily with Noteit. Custom categories will allow you to find your work quickly. The first line in your doc will be used as a title if you do not select one. In the latest version, the developers have fixed some minor bugs including the scrolling while editing feature.
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iFreelancer, Kele $1.99
Version released August 8, 2009
Developer’s website: http://www.devshare.org/
For all the freelancers out there, now you do not have to run back to your desktop or laptop to search the latest jobs/ projects onelance.com, getafreelancer.co odesk.com, and scriptlance.com. The developer says more sites will be added. You can open project detail, check the status and even customize your favorite categories. This is a great tool for many professionals.
Dexigner, Free
App Store Link
Version released July 4, 2009
Developer’s website: http://www.dexigner.com/
Dexigner application delivers the latest design news, current and upcoming events, exhibitions, conferences, and design competitions. You are able to browse the Design Directory to obtain contact information and location for many studios, galleries, and museums.
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Art and Design Gallery, John Clevesy $0.99
Version released July 22, 2009
Developer’s website: http://www.gayrightssite.com/
As an artist, Art and Design Gallery provides a way for you to show off your work in 70 countries. They have contests where you submit your family-oriented photography, graphic design, or other art, and is placed into categories. You retain all rights to your works and even have the opportunity to sell your masterpieces to those who see via the Art and Design Gallery app.
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Dreamweaver CS4: The Missing Manual, O’Reilly Media, Inc. $4.99
Version released July 31, 2009
Developer’s website http://oreilly.com/catalog/
Learn how to control the appearance of your web pages with CSS from the basics to advanced techniques and have all the information at your fingertips without the need to carry along a heavy book.
Bip, Blamo $0.99
Version released July 24, 2009
Developer’s website http://bipapp.com/
The folks at Blamo say, “Bip is a color thingamajig for all ages. It’s an intuitive interface to exploring color space made for
artists, designers, day dreamers, UI geeks, normal people, some folks they know, friends of those folks, maybe their family members… and it’s especially made for you. There’s no gameplay, and no goal, it’s just art.”
101+ PhotoEffects, MacPhun, LLC $0.99
App Store Link
Version released August 14, 2009
Developer’s website: http://macphun.com/MacPhun/
this is by no means supposed to replace your Photoshop or any other photo editing software you might have on your computer, but for an iPhone, it does one helluva job. The latest version features 105 photo effects and this number continues to grow with regular free updates. You can crop, rotate, flip, adjust brightnewss, use random filters and so much more! Images can be saved up to 1600 x 1200 pixels in high resolution quality. For less than a buck, you cannot go wrong.
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JotNot Scanner for Receipts, whiteboards, business cards, and documents, MobiTech 3000 LLC $4.99
Version released August 6, 2009
Developer’s website: http://www.mobitech3000.com/
People just starting out as a freelancer do not always realize the importance of accurate bookkeeping and organization. JotNot will scan your receipts so you can save to .jpg, .pdf or .png format before there is any chance of losing them. That feature alone is worth 10 times what they’re asking for this iPhone app. You can also scan business cards, take pics of white boards and documents.
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So whether you’re looking for something new, reference materials, or organizational tools, these best iPhone apps could be great for the novice, aspiring artist or professional.
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Thanks for the awesome site!! The “Color Expert , Code Line” is a big help.
Graphic Designers should get DesignRuler which features an Inch/Cm/Pica/Point/Agate Ruler, E-scale from 6pt to 72pt, Line weight scale, Leading scale and Fraction to Decimal conversion reference.
And there’s AdRuler For those in Newspaper publishing and Ad buying, which has guides for various Column Widths, charts for 6-Column layouts plus grids for Standard Advertising Units (SAU) and Modular page fraction Ad sizes.
For those app developers that don’t know Objective-C and Cocoa Touch and don’t want to outsource development, check out localbeacon (an iphone app builder) at http://www.bigforge.com. Great for those who want to build just one app or developers interested in white label.
I have one to add: Font Combinations App. You can play with the top typefaces to see how they work or don’t work with each other in a design by just swiping them in and out. Great for learning popular fonts or for experimenting with typeface pairs very easily:
Also check out Dapp – the app design app. A professional iPhone app that will let you design your own iPhone app mockups and then export them as a multi-page PDF wireframe document. Very cool. Nice little bonus is that Dapp will even export your iPhone app mockups into iPhone SDK code, useful little feature for designers looking at learning how to create their own iPhone apps.
http://dapp.kerofrog.com.au
Great compilation.
have a look at this app as well: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id387240098?mt=8&affId=1744357&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
it’s a fun little app and the scores can be shared on Facebook as well.