21 essential iPad apps for graphic designers

If it is obvious that the iPad is popular with personal users, it is equally true that it is also beginning to make its mark with professionals. To take notes in a meeting, manage emails anywhere, showcase products, or even utilize specific apps for different work areas, the iPad becomes a perfect partner.

In a series of articles, I will share the most useful apps for various jobs. Let’s begin today with graphic and web designers.

CSS reference

A guide for web developers on CSS. Unfortunately, in English it will help beginners and serve as a resource for more experienced users. €1.59CSS3Machine

An excellent app that showcases the capabilities of CSS3. You can learn the basics or find out about more complex features like text effects (shadow, 3D, direction, etc.) and creating color gradients. You can generate your own codes by adjusting some settings and export them easily using Copy/Paste.

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Imockup

A well-crafted tool for interface design. It is quite challenging to choose between Imockups and SketchyPad, which I will introduce to you just below. Perhaps their cost will influence your choice, but Imockups has an impressive library of components. €5.49.

SketchyPad

A must! This application is prodigious and will give full meaning to the use of the iPad in your daily life as a graphic designer. It allows you to draw sketches of web or software interfaces using a library of windows, buttons, drop-down lists, etc. €3.99

Dropbox

Dropbox is a free service that lets you take all your documents, photos, and videos anywhere. Once you install the Dropbox app on your computer, any files you save in it are automatically accessible from anywhere, as long as you have a connection. At a time when the cloud has never been more fashionable, this service allows you to enter it without problems. Free.

Color flow

An application that will allow you to create color combinations for your graphic creations in Adobe Kuler style. You can start with a color swatch or simply a photo. €2.39

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AdobeIdeas

Adobe Ideas is both a sketchbook and a notepad, but also a tool for recovering colors in a photo, etc. In short, it’s there to help you capture and hold inspiration that, we know, can surprise us at any moment. Free

Taste

Gusto is an application for working on the development of your websites. The sites appear as thumbnails, and you can then open your project and download files via FTP. You can open multiple files at once thanks to a tabbed system. You can view the changes locally after editing and then push everything to the server. €5.49Mini Draw HD

Another vector drawing application (although the export will be in Bitmap format) with layers and Bezier curves. A little expensive for what it is. €6.99

LiveView

An application that will allow you (for free) to take remote control of your computer. Always useful when you’ve forgotten a file at home or to start a remote rendering process. Free

SketchMee

The sole purpose of this application is to give your photos a pencil-drawn look. The rendering is really interesting and far from what I have seen in other apps of the same genre. It’s not really a production tool, but it can still be useful. €1.59

Sketchbook Pro

The most advanced drawing application I’ve ever tried. Don’t look for an equivalent of Painter or Photoshop, of course, but you can make great sketches with the tools it offers. Different pencils, markers, brushes and up to six layers will be at your disposal. Negative point: the resolution limited to 1024 x 768 px. €5.99

Another app for drawing and painting. Management of brushes (which you can create yourself), layers and 64-bit colors. Very nice application with a very clean interface. €3.99

Photogenic

A truly portable little Photoshop for photographers. You will be able to crop and correct the orientation of your photos, retouch them (buffers, blur, etc.), some coloring filters, add text, bubbles, create thumbnails and frames and of course the usual tools (curves, levels, etc.). The interface is successful and the software can handle images up to 5 Mpx. €1.59

FX HD photo studio

Another application dedicated to photo editing, but this one is more focused on special effects for enhancement. I repeat myself, but this type of software has little to envy from many applications on Mac or PC. While there are many on the AppStore, this one is among the best. €2.39 and €0.79 for additional effects packs

iDraw

If for a certain period there were doubts about the possible uses of the iPad, it is clear that this type of applications immediately classifies the tablet in the computer category. This is definitely the best vector drawing application on iPad. Unfortunately the price is high: €8.99

iDesign

Because it’s always good to have the option to choose, a second vector drawing application, with a very technical interface, which really holds up and is much less expensive. €4.99

Things

Introducing Things, a truly intuitive task manager that gets to the point. Other apps oversimplify or are too complicated to use. Things offers you the perfect balance between ease of use and efficiency. It allows you to easily manage tasks, notes, deadlines and projects. The smart daily list and forecast will help you organize yourself on a daily basis. Things’ elegant interface will inspire you to meet your deadlines. €15.99

Flickstackr

FlickStackr transfers photos from Flickr to your iPad. Built from the ground up for big screens, it lets you view your photos in the Flickr universe. Upload photos and edit your photo data. €1.59

Flipboard

You’ve definitely heard of it! This is the app of the moment. Capable of integrating your Facebook and Twitter universe, the RSS feeds you follow and your favorite sites, it then displays everything in the truly pleasant form of a magazine whose pages you turn one by one.

This application, also free, will allow you to follow your professional monitoring in a pleasant way!

Evernote

Evernote is a sort of extension of your brain, capable of remembering everything you might forget. A creative idea, the shape of a logo, a place you want to remember and will photograph, a melody that runs through your head and that you record, everything can be classified by theme so you can find your way. The best: all this will be available from all your computers, tablets or smartphones thanks to the dedicated application. Free

I film

Once again Apple demonstrates its know-how in terms of ergonomics with this application dedicated to video editing. Like the Mac application of the same name, it will allow you to add titles, transition effects, special effects, etc. Incredibly simple and perfectly optimized for touch, Imovie will allow you to create your own montages, for example, when you are on the move. €3.99 and only works on Ipad 2 (and on the first of the names for smart phones…)

WordPress

There isn’t much to say about this application. If you have a site or blog that uses WordPress, this application will allow you to update your site remotely through an interface adapted to the iPad. Free

Blogsy

Another application to manage your blog from your iPad. This application has the advantage of not being dedicated to a single platform, it manages both Worpdress and Blogger and can recover images from Flickr, Picassa and videos from Youtube. The application works via drag and drop for photos and videos. €2.39

iPad wallet

Instead of taking out a case or a typical laptop during your next professional interviews, why not present your portfolio directly on the iPad? There is a chance that you will surprise your audience by presenting your graphic design portfolio on the iPad. The iPad format lends itself very well to this use. You can add images with a maximum resolution of 2048x2048px, you can also customize the interface, including your logo on the home screen. The application can recover your images from your DropBox account, iTunes, or just your iPad library. Cropping tools are at your disposal to adapt your content. €11.99