5 Productivity tools you need as a UX designer

1. Collect

Before embarking on a new idea, most of us would look around for inspiration through pictures or works that have been done before. It can be a hassle having to screenshot websites for references and mixing hyperlinks with images in a document is usually a messy affair that often doesn’t spark inspiration.

This is where Collect comes into play. Collect is a simple and fuss-free app that allows you to place all your inspiration and references on different mood boards. From images to videos and articles, the platform helps users keep track of their inspiration in an organised and visual manner. Users can conveniently drop in whatever links or pictures they find along the way.

The platform even allows for collaborative boards with other members to add items and features a Google chrome extension for convenience.

2. MIRO

Perhaps one of the most commonly used tools for UX practitioners, MIRO is a highly versatile and useful tool for mockups, ideation and collaboration. MIRO is an online collaborative whiteboard platform that allows team members to work with one another in real time.

3. Iconify/Material Design

As a UX practitioner, you may often find yourself looking for all sorts of icons when designing a product. Considering how many icons a page usually has, having to find icons one by one is tedious and time-consuming. Icon libraries such as Iconify or Material Design (by Google) allows you access to a wide range of icons conveniently.

4. Maze

Maze is an online usability testing platform that makes use of high-fidelity prototypes to create an advanced user testing setup for customer data. Maze is perfect for UX practitioners to easily test and analyse their design as users can link and test their prototypes from platforms such as Figma, Adobe XD and Sketch etc.

Users can add and keep track of different tasks that their testers are supposed to perform, and then ask questions or collect information at each of these tasks/touchpoints. Aside from custom tasks, Maze also provides a wide array of templates for all sorts of testing tasks, from closed card sorting to specific usability tests.

5. Notion

From meetings to user testing to redesigning features, UX practitioners often have to juggle many different tasks of varying importance and scope. It can be extremely daunting and tedious to keep track of everything without a proper structure or to-do list. Thus, the next app we’re introducing is a simple yet versatile app that allows you to think, write and plan better.

Notion allows users to easily keep track of their tasks, sorting them by their status on a simplistic board.

Final Notes

The key selling point for many of these apps is how easy it is for someone to pick them up and integrate them into their current workflow. Simple interfaces and helpful guides ensure that anyone can learn how to use them. Aside from having great UX, Most of these applications also work alongside common apps used in the UX field such as Figma or Sketch.

Learning how to stay organised and productive is an important skill not frequently taught in UX design curriculum. Having an experienced UX design mentor and learning how they go about tackling their daily work is another useful way to improve in this aspect.

We hope that this article provides a good introduction to some options that can help improve your daily workflow. If you want to know more about user experience and its industry, do check out our other resources available on our website, such as our articles, weekly webinars, and podcasts. CuriousCore offers both a 2-day UX Design Course and a 4-month UX Career Accelerator for those keen on transitioning into the industry. Click the buttons below to find out more.