Designers have more tools at their disposal than ever before, with more and more available as technology and publishing platforms evolve. Naturally, industry standards like Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator have taken the lead, but there are many tasks required of designers. Of course, everyone has their own preference, as anyone who has collaborated with a freelancer, agency team, or client knows very well. (Downsave to CS5? Are you for real, bro?)
The tools we work with says a lot about the creative process in the digital age, which is why Khoi Vin, Principal Designer at Adobe, decided to survey designers on his blog (Subtraction.com) and visualize the results. From brainstorming and wireframing to interface design and file storage, 4,000 participants from almost 200 countries answered questions about their tool preferences. The resulting interactive reveals interesting insights into how designers work. The go-to tool for brainstorms? Good old-fashioned pencil and paper. Canadian designers use Dropbox most for storate, while Sketch beats out Photoshop when it comes to wireframing.
Explore the results yourself to see if they track with how you work.
If you need help with your own design, check out Column Five.