Mobile App Designers focus on using the apt tool for developing a valuable mobile app that creates an enhanced user experience. Thus, arises the need for including a user-friendly mobile design and improving the Mobile App UI. There are numerous mobile app design tools and hence it is challenging to choose the best tool for your particular type of app.
Included here is the list of the 24 best tools for App Designers
1. Sketch
This is a lightweight MacBook based UI/UX design tool for modern app designers. It is similar to Adobe Photoshop and is built mainly for app prototyping. Sketch has one of the highest shares in the wireframing and prototyping space.
Other features are:
- Download size is about 20 megabyte, it
- Exports assets very fast. Ultimately,
- Yearly renewable license
- Doesn’t take up too much space on your system
To edit photos, you’ll have to combine this app with other tools like Photoshop or Adobe illustrator.
2. BuildFire
This is a great tool for mobile app designers that supports creating a working prototype of the app that you are designing. BuildFire is a fully customizable tool. This tool can be used to create apps for both Apple and Android users and prototypes can also be built.
Additional features are:
- You can prioritize UI design on mobile devices.
- You can collect user feedback and user input via push notifications.
- Simplifies app design.
- Customization is enabled
- Provides a solution for non-technical users
- Preview your mobile app design directly on your own mobile screen,
- Is compatible with every major operating system.
3. Adobe Experience Design (XD)
Adobe XD is the direct competitor of Sketch and it exclusively supports Mac.
Features includes:
- Similar to Sketch, this tool also supports wireframing, prototyping, and more.
- Fast and easy to use.
- It supports only Windows 10 Anniversary Update.
4. Axure RP
This is a complete app design tool for professional designers and allows to prioritize user experience.
Attributes are:
- Supports prototyping
- Allows to design wireframes, mockups, flowcharts, personas, idea boards, user journeys, UI design, diagramming and graphical documentations and even more.
- Allows to code
- Allows to add ready to use components and libraries to help you create even better design seamlessly.
5. Marvel
Marvel allows designing, prototyping and also collaborating with your design team. You can synchronize your designs from other tools like Sketch or Photoshop, Illustrator and even those on cloud storage like Dropbox or Google Drive.
Features includes:
- You can add your designs from different tools and
- Make the designs come alive with all the animation features.
- Marvel is super specific—design, prototype and collaborate.
6. Proto.io
It’s easy to use, as no coding is required. You can seamlessly import your UI components from Sketch or Photoshop.
Add ons:
- Create cool animations to show the flow of your app across different screens.
- Allows you to synchronize assets in Dropbox or Google Drive easily to help you simplify your workflow.
- It’s a browser-based prototyping tool
- No need to download any heavy software
- Start using it right away after signing up for their 15 days free trial.
7. Origami Studio
Developed by Facebook engineers, Origami is a standalone user interface design tool and has been used by Facebook to design Facebook apps like Facebook Messenger and Instagram.
Features are:
- It’s a free tool.
- It’s a complex tool with great functionalities.
- You can preview your app prototype,copy and paste layers from Sketch and get them working in Origami.
- You can record your prototype and quickly send it to anyone from the Origami app.
- You can connect it to your Apple or Android mobile devices to preview it and see live changes as you work on it.
8. OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle provides the features and freedom to prototype screen flows, strategy maps, wireframes, and a variety of diagrams as it is a diagram design tool. You can quickly visualize the flow of your app and help you in planning your app development without much hassle.
9. Balsamiq
Excellent tool to design wireframes and wireframes alone effortlessly. Wireframe sketches or clean wireframe designs can be made with this. It is fast and has a lot of UI elements to match your thought-out design.
10. JustInMind
Used for designing wireframes and for prototyping, this is a standalone tool. This tool can be downloaded to your server for design team collaboration.
Properties are:
- It allows you to add HTML, videos, online widgets, docs, interactive maps and online/offline to your application through its widget library.
- Allows integration with JIRA, Microsoft TFS, Doors.
- You can manage your team members from the same platform.
- They have tons of plugin extensions to help make your job easier.
11. HotGloo
HotGloo allows you to prototype any type of mobile application that needs a particular interface for user experience and is a robust interface designing tool. It has extraordinary interactive features.Designers can work on a single wireframe project from wherever they are.
This is a web-based tool, and you are not required to download any software.
12. UI Stencil Kit
Helps in app brainstorming and ideation phase. It has some sticky note features and makes your initial ideation stage very flexible. UI stencil kit is a tool every designer must have.
13. Flinto
Flinto has a web design tool and Mac version that can easily import Sketch and Photoshop designs. It’s super fast and mirrors iPhone and Android transition animations. Flinto supports prototype previewing, and with this tool, sharing the installation link is simple — just send a link to whoever you want to from the app.
14. FramerJS
FramerJS allows you to code or use their visual editing tool that auto-generates the corresponding code at the backend. It is a flexible and interactive mobile app design and one which you can re-use if you like to meddle with code.
FramerJS can be used by visiting their website and some training is required which is provided for free. You can learn how to create powerful wireframes and prototypes with the tool.
With this tool, you can preview your prototype. It facilitates easy workflow and import of your designs from Sketch, Figma, and Photoshop.
15. InVision
InVision allows you to upload your design files and add animations, gestures, and transitions to turn your static prototypes into interactive and clickable prototypes.It guides and manages your workflow with effective collaboration.
16. Zeplin
Zeplin does beyond design and workflow and is a collaboration tool for designers and developers. Mobile designers can create a masterpiece using this tool. Zeplin allows you to upload your wireframes and visual designs from Photoshop and Sketch and add them to your project folder in Zeplin.
Additional features are:
- Enables building a product specification document and reiterating
- Developers can be introduced to the design process early enough
- Annotations can be generated for the uploaded files from Sketch or Photoshop.
- Iterations can be done at the same time—thereby reducing the number of iterations for a project.
17. UXPin
This tool aids to create powerful UX without code and take on the whole process from design to development.This is a drag and drop UI/UX design tool for creating high-end fidelity wireframes and prototypes.
UXPin helps you with designs in the program or from either Photoshop or Sketch and import the same to UXPin.
It has a lot of built-in elements and helps create interactive workflows and wireframes within a short period of time.
18. Iconjar
Iconjar enables organizing your icons by uploading and storing all your icons in one place. You can then search for them to drag and drop those to your project on Sketch or Photoshop or illustrator. However, you may not be able to upload .ai and .sketch files.
19. Fluid UI
This is a single platform for your design, collaboration and communication needs. It has powerful collaboration and features and is a perfect tool for mobile app designers.
Enables creating a prototype, or to present your designs and gather feedback quickly within one platform. Also, allows to download Fluid UI to your desktop and speed up your work.
20. MindNode
Attributes are:
- Helps to build relationship maps.
- Help you stay organized when your ideas are running wild.
- The platform and user interface are both super simple.
- Doesn’t have any complex or distracting features.
- Enables task prioritization
- Can set reminders and deadlines on the platform
- Can easily fold and unfold nodes whenever you need to access them for your current project.
- Their cloud software makes it easy for you to share your project with other people.
- Enables to access your work on MindNode from anywhere, including mobile devices.
21. Photoshop
It’s no longer a software that’s just made for cutting and pasting pictures, but is great for bitmap manipulation as well.
They’ve got features like:
- Layering
- Texture
- Lighting
- Blurring
22. Venngage
Allows to create beautiful designs using ready-made, highly customizable templates without the need of a designer. While creating infographics, presentations, reports or social media visuals, Venngage’s customizable templates will help you become a design wiz in a few clicks.
With Venngage, other visualizations like a pie chart can be made with the pie chart maker, or you can create a graph with the graph maker, and use our bar graph maker to create bar graphs and more”
23. Pen and notepad
A pen and piece of paper before you start to put anything into a computer software will be of great help. You can collect your thoughts, have a better idea of what you want your design to look like before you get started.
24. Principle
Definitely one needs to get a principle for great designing and animating.
Conclusion
Mobile app design is a continuously evolving project, so are the areas that require improvement. An improved Mobile App UI undoubtedly is an unavoidable aspect for creating better user experience. The tools discussed here, would be aptly used by a mobile app development company like ours for creating high quality mobile apps that favours your business and operation.