11 web design tools you can't live without.
01. Pattern Lab
02. Vivaldi
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Web design 11 web design tools you can't live without
11 web design tools you can't live without
By Dan Edwards March 13, 2017 Web design
From Sketch to Affinity designer, here are 11 top design tools to transform your workflow.
The world of web design tools never stands still. Technology keeps on advancing, standards keep on evolving, and every month there's new stuff to try out that can make your life as a designer that little bit better.
Static mockups are becoming less useful and the lines between designer and developer are becoming increasingly blurred. As we work more collaboratively with one another, the tools we use are having to change.
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Here, then, are 11 essential tools for a life in web design. Try them out, see how they work for you, but don't get too attached to them. Something new might be along in a few months that could easily blow any of them out of the water.
01. Pattern Lab
Pattern Lab is based around Atomic Design
Pattern Lab is a beautiful pattern-driven design tool created by Dave OIsen and Brad Frost. It's based on the concept of Atomic Design, which says that you should break your design down into its smallest parts – atoms – and combine them to form bigger, reusable components – molecules and organisms – that can then be turned into usable templates.
Although at its core it's a static site generator that stitches together UI components, there's much more to Pattern Lab than that. It's language- and tool-agnostic; it enables you to nest UI patterns inside each other and design with dynamic data; it features device-agnostic viewport resizing tools to help you ensure your design system is fully responsive; and it's fully extensible so you can be sure it'll expand to meet your needs.
02. Vivaldi
Sometimes the best tool can be something as simple as a new browser. Vivaldi is a fast, customisable web browser for power-users built by some of the people who started Opera. Dubbed 'a browser for our friends', Vivaldi is built using web technologies: JavaScript and React were used to make the user interface, along with Node.js and lots of NPM modules.
Vivaldi is the most customisable browser out there, and it offers other cool features such as command line control, a panel for taking notes, tab stacking and tiling, and web panels that enable you to put all your favourite sites in one place for easy access.
03. Affinity Designer
04. Avocode
05. Antetype
06. Sketch
07. Form
08. UXPin
09. Macaw
10. Marvel
11. Webflow