Looking for Product design tools to boost your designing process? Well then, look no further. Here we will discuss the best 15 Product design tools. But before we head forward to the list, let’s get to know about product design first.
What Is Product Designing?
Product design refers to the process of creating and developing a new product that meets the needs and expectations of potential customers. This process involves several stages, including research and development, prototyping, testing, and refinement.
Besides, the goal of product design is to create a product that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, the product design covers a wide range of businesses such as consumer goods, industrial machines, software products, etc.
Well, using product design tools here can actually help you. But how exactly? Let’s know it.
How can Product Design Tool Help Here?
Product design tools play a crucial role in helping product designers bring their ideas to life and effectively communicate them to other stakeholders. Here are a few ways in which product design tools can help in the product design process:
- Sketching and Conceptualization: Tools such as Figma & Sketch allow designers to quickly and easily create sketches and concept drawings to communicate their ideas and receive feedback. Also, such tools offer a range of design tools for creating user interfaces, wireframes, and prototypes.
- Prototyping: Prototyping tools, such as Marvel App and Axure, enable designers to quickly create interactive prototypes that simulate the behavior and look of the final product. This allows designers to test their designs and receive feedback from users and other stakeholders before committing to a final design.
- Collaboration: Collaboration tools, such as Zeplin allow designers to work with team members and stakeholders from remote locations, streamline communication and feedback, and ensure that everyone is on the same page.
- Wireframing: Rapid wireframing tools like Balsamiq allows designers to quickly create simple wireframes, prototypes, and design mockups. Besides, it provides a range of design elements, including UI elements, icons, and shapes, and includes collaboration tools for sharing designs with team members and stakeholders.
- Provided Cloud Platforms: Cloud-based product design platforms like UXPin offers a range of tools for creating wireframes, prototypes, and design systems. Furthermore, it also provides collaboration features for designers to share designs with team members and offers a range of design elements and components to speed up the design process.
The Best Product Design Tools To Use
Well, product design tools in general help streamline the design process, reduce errors and rework, and make it easier for designers to bring their ideas to life. Additionally, product design tools also help designers to better understand and incorporate user needs and feedback into their designs, ultimately leading to better and more successful products.
Here, we have gathered Fantastic 15 Product Design Tools for you. Let’s check them out…!!
Adobe Creative Cloud
A suite of tools including Photoshop, Illustrator, and XD for graphic design, web design, and user experience design.
Adobe Creative Cloud is a collection of software product design tools and services offered by Adobe Systems that provides users with a variety of design and creative capabilities. The Creative Cloud suite includes industry-standard tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and more, all of which are available through a monthly or annual subscription. Besides, this model allows users to access the latest versions of these tools, as well as updates and new features as they become available, without the need to purchase a new version of the software every time it is released.
One of the major benefits of using Adobe Creative Cloud is the ability to work across devices and platforms, with files stored in the cloud and accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. Additionally, the tools in the Creative Cloud suite are designed to work seamlessly together, allowing users to move easily from one tool to another as they work on a project. Besides, cloud-based storage also makes it easy to collaborate with others, share files, and access work from anywhere. Furthermore, Creative Cloud also offers access to a large community of users, including a wealth of tutorials, resources, and support, making it a valuable resource for both amateur and professional designers.
Key Features:
- Access to the latest versions of Adobe’s creative tools and services
- The ability to work across devices and platforms
- Seamless integration between tools and services
- Access to a community of users and resources
- Cloud-based storage and collaboration capabilities
- Regular updates and new features.
Pricing:
- Free Trials
- Individual plan: $52.99/month and includes access to all of the Creative Cloud desktop applications.
- Business plan: $33.99 per user per month and includes additional features such as centralized account management and collaboration tools.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom.
Figma
A browser-based design tool that allows teams to collaborate in real-time.
Figma is a cloud-based interface design tool that allows teams to collaborate in real-time on the design of websites and mobile applications. With Figma, designers can create wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs, all in one place. It provides a seamless design experience by enabling multiple team members to work on a project simultaneously and leaving version history intact. This eliminates the need for manual file sharing, making the design process smoother and more efficient.
Figma is widely popular among designers, product managers, and developers due to its intuitive and user-friendly interface, as well as its strong collaboration and prototyping features. The tool is browser-based, which means there is no need to download any software, making it accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. Figma also integrates with other popular design and project management tools, making it easy to incorporate into a team’s existing workflow. With its vast library of templates, plugins, and design elements, Figma is a comprehensive solution for all design needs.
Key Features:
- Cloud-based interface design tool
- Real-time collaboration for teams
- Wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity design capabilities
- Seamless design experience with version history
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Browser-based, no software download required
- Accessible from anywhere with an internet connection
- Integrates with other design and project management tools
- Strong collaboration and prototyping features
- A vast library of templates, plugins, and design elements
- Comprehensive solution for all design needs.
It is advisable to use Figma UI Kit while working on any Figma projects. UI kits can be very helpful and time-saving as they come with ready-to-use components. You will no longer need to search here and there for the required components. For example, you can check the Sneat Figma Admin Dashboard Builder &UI kit. It is an atomic design-based UI kit with 500+ Components.
Sketch
A vector graphics editor and digital design tool specifically made for web and app design.
Sketch is a powerful vector graphics editor and digital design tool. It is widely used by graphic designers, web designers, and interface designers to create high-quality designs, illustrations, and user interfaces for websites, mobile apps, and other digital products. With Sketch, designers have the ability to work with vector graphics, which are made up of paths, rather than pixels, providing greater flexibility and scalability. Thus, the designs created in Sketch can be resized to any size without losing quality, making it ideal for creating user interfaces that need to be adapted to different screen sizes.
Furthermore, Sketch is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it easy for designers to start and become productive quickly. Besides, it also has a range of advanced features and tools, such as the ability to work with multiple artboards, grids, and layout tools, and a comprehensive set of design tools that make it easy to create complex shapes and designs.
Key Features:
- Vector graphics editing
- Multiple artboards
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Advanced design tools
- Grid and layout tools
- Scalable designs without losing quality
- Collaboration with other tools and platforms
- A comprehensive set of design tools for complex shapes and designs
- Integration with other tools and platforms, such as InVision, Zeplin, and Adobe Creative Cloud.
InVision
A digital product design platform that enables designers to create interactive prototypes and animations.
InVision is a leading product design platform that helps teams create beautiful, functional, and engaging digital products. With its comprehensive set of design tools, collaboration features, and animation capabilities, InVision makes it easy for teams to bring their ideas to life and create outstanding user experiences. From prototyping and design collaboration to presenting and gathering feedback, InVision streamlines the entire design process and helps teams work better, together.
InVision also offers a wide range of integrations with popular tools like Sketch, Photoshop, and more, making it easy to integrate with existing workflows. Its intuitive drag-and-drop interface and real-time collaboration features make it simple for teams to work together on a design, regardless of location. InVision also provides robust analytics, so teams can get a deeper understanding of how users are interacting with their designs and make data-driven decisions to improve the user experience.
Key Features:
- Comprehensive design tools for prototyping and design collaboration
- Animation capabilities for creating engaging digital experiences
- Real-time collaboration features for working with team members
- Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
- Integrations with popular tools such as Sketch and Photoshop
- Robust analytics to understand user interactions and make data-driven decisions
- Presentation tools for gathering feedback and presenting designs
- Streamlines the entire design process from start to finish.
Pricing & Plans:
- Free plan with limited features and collaboration options
- The team plan starts at $15 per user per month, with unlimited projects and advanced collaboration features
- Enterprise plan with custom pricing, offering dedicated customer success support, enterprise-level security and compliance, and customizable workflows.
Axure
A wireframing, prototyping, and documentation tool for web and mobile applications.
Axure is a product design tool that is widely used by product managers, designers, and developers. It provides a comprehensive platform for creating wireframes, prototypes, and interactive specifications. With its powerful features, it allows users to design and test their ideas before building a final product, saving time and resources. Axure provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, allowing users to quickly and easily create complex designs. The platform also supports collaboration and version control, making it easy for teams to work together on a project and track changes over time.
One of the standout features of Axure is its ability to create interactive prototypes, which allow users to test and validate their designs before development. This helps to identify any issues early on and to make changes that can improve the final product. The platform also includes a wide range of pre-built UI components and a library of templates, making it easy to get started with a new project. Axure is also highly customizable, allowing users to create custom components and workflows to meet the specific needs of their projects. Whether you are a product manager, designer, or developer, Axure is a powerful tool that can help you create high-quality products with ease.
Features:
- WYSIWYG wireframe creation and design
- Collaboration and version control
- Dynamic content and conditional logic
- Interactive animations and micro-interactions
- Responsive design and mobile preview
- Master pages and reusable components
- Team Library for sharing and managing assets
- Customized, dynamic documentation generation
Pricing:
- Axure RP Pro: $29/month or $495/year (billed annually)
- Axure RP Team: starts at $495/year for 5 users
Marvel App
A platform that allows designers to quickly create and share interactive prototypes and designs.
Marvel App is a digital product design platform that helps designers, product managers, and teams to create and share interactive prototypes, wireframes, and designs for web and mobile applications. Besides, the platform is user-friendly and offers a variety of design tools, including design components, animations, and interactions, to help bring ideas to life.
Furthermore, the Marvel App is a collaborative platform, that allows team members to comment, review and approve designs from anywhere, at any time. It also integrates with popular tools such as Sketch, Photoshop, and Figma, making it easier for designers to use their preferred tools while still benefiting from Marvel’s design collaboration features. Additionally, the platform provides real-time analytics and usage data, allowing teams to understand how their prototypes are being used and make informed decisions based on that data.
Features:
- Design components, animations, and interactions to bring ideas to life
- A collaborative platform for team members to comment, review and approve designs
- Integrates with popular tools such as Sketch, Photoshop, and Figma
- Real-time analytics and usage data to understand how prototypes are being used
- User-friendly interface and design tools
Pricing:
- Free plan with limited features
- Pro plan starting at $12/month/user
- Business plan starting at $42/month/user with additional features such as team management and advanced analytics.
Affinity Designer
A vector graphics design software that offers professional-level tools and features.
Affinity is a graphic design software developed by Serif, a software company based in the United Kingdom. The software is designed for professionals and amateur designers alike, offering a range of tools for creating, editing, and customizing digital graphics, photos, and artwork. It offers a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and provides access to a wide range of features and tools. Whether you’re a photographer, artist, or graphic designer, Affinity provides the tools to create professional-quality designs.
Affinity offers three different products, including Affinity Photo for photo editing, Affinity Designer for vector design, and Affinity Publisher for desktop publishing. Each product is designed to work seamlessly together, allowing users to switch between them without worrying about compatibility issues. The software is available for both Windows and Mac computers, and offers a one-time purchase option, making it an affordable option for professionals and hobbyists alike. With its wide range of features and tools, Affinity is a great choice for anyone looking for an all-in-one design solution.
Features:
- Seamless integration between products
- Available for both Windows and Mac computers
- One-time purchase option
Pricing:
- Affinity Photo: $49.99 one-time purchase
- Affinity Designer: $49.99 one-time purchase
- Affinity Publisher: $49.99 one-time purchase
- Bundle of all three products: $139.99 one-time purchase.
GIMP
A free and open-source image editing software that can be used for web design.
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free and open-source image editing software. It is widely used by amateur and professional graphic designers alike as a powerful alternative to proprietary software such as Adobe Photoshop. GIMP offers a wide range of features, including image retouching, composition, and authoring, making it a versatile tool for various types of image manipulation tasks. Furthermore, it provides top-notch color management features to ensure high-fidelity color reproduction across digital and printed media. It is best used in workflows involving other free software such as Scribus, Inkscape, and SwatchBooker.
GIMP has a user-friendly interface and is highly customizable, with a variety of plugins and extensions available to add new functionality. It also supports a wide range of file formats, allowing for seamless integration into a workflow. Additionally, the software is constantly being updated and improved upon by its dedicated development community, ensuring that it remains a top choice for those looking for a free and reliable image editing solution.
Features:
- Image retouching and editing
- Image composition and authoring
- User-friendly interface and customization options
- Wide range of file format support
- Regular updates and improvements from a dedicated development community
Pricing:
- Open Source
Balsamiq
A rapid wireframing tool that allows designers to quickly create low-fidelity prototypes.
Balsamiq is a company that provides a rapid wireframing tool for software development. The tool is designed to help developers, designers, and project managers quickly create user interfaces for web and mobile applications. The tool is highly visual, making it easy for non-technical stakeholders to understand and provide feedback on designs.
The Balsamiq wireframing tool is known for its ease of use and quick learning curve. It provides a library of premade UI elements, allowing users to create wireframes in a matter of minutes. The tool also includes collaboration features, such as the ability to share wireframes with team members for real-time feedback and comments. Additionally, the Balsamiq team provides a wealth of resources, including tutorials and guides, to help users get the most out of the tool.
Features:
- Library of UI elements
- Collaboration features
- Realistic design
- Easy-to-use interface
Pricing:
- Free trial available
- Individual plans start at $9 per month
- Team plans start at $29 per month per user
UXPin
A design platform that enables teams to collaborate on design projects and create wireframes, prototypes, and design systems.
UXPin is a powerful design platform for user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. With its intuitive tools and comprehensive features, UXPin helps designers create high-quality digital products, from wireframes to prototypes. Furthermore, the platform provides a collaborative environment where designers can work together in real-time, streamlining the design process and ensuring that all stakeholders are on the same page.
Besides, UXPin offers a wide range of design elements, including pre-made templates, icons, and UI kits, making it easy to create designs that are both functional and visually appealing. In addition, the platform also integrates with other tools, such as Sketch and InVision, allowing designers to seamlessly bring their designs to life. With its focus on UX and UI design, UXPin is an essential tool for any designer looking to create amazing digital products that deliver a great user experience.
Features:
- Intuitive design tools for wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups
- Real-time collaboration for a streamlined design process
- Wide range of design elements, including templates, icons, and UI kits
- Integration with other design tools, such as Sketch and InVision
- Focus on user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design
- Team management and project management features
- Design version control and design system management
- Commenting and feedback tools for communication and collaboration
- Heatmap and click tracking for user testing and analysis
Pricing:
- Free plan with limited features
- Premium plan starting at $23/month per user with annual billing
- Enterprise plan with custom pricing for large teams and organizations
- Custom plan for custom requirements and integrations.
Zeplin
A collaboration tool for web designers and developers that integrates with design tools like Sketch, Figma, and Photoshop.
Zeplin is a cloud-based and on-premise collaboration software designed to help enterprises design websites and applications, share ideas and organize projects across teams using digital workspaces. The platform enables developers to export design data from a variety of applications including Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, and Figma.
Zeplin lets designers create global style guides, which allow users to organize, share, modify, and store design files, text styles, codes, and more in a centralized repository for future reference. Features include drag-and-drop capabilities, version tracking, data archiving, notifications, and documentation management. Additionally, role-based access enables specific members to create, edit or view content, designs, and codes.
Features:
- API
- Access Controls/Permissions
- Activity Dashboard
- Alerts/Notifications
- Brainstorming
- Collaboration Tools
- Commenting/Notes
- Communication Management
Pricing:
- Free Trial
- Team: $8 seat/month, 12 projects
- Organization: $16, 12 seats/month, Unlimited Projects
- Enterprise: Custom
Invision Studio
A powerful animation and design tool for creating interactive prototypes and animations.
InVision Studio is part of the InVision tool suite, which also includes InVision Cloud, which allows you to connect, store, and share your overall product styling workflow, and InVision DSM, a design system manager and library where you can store and control all of your brand and UX components.
Furthermore, thanks to flexible layers and an infinite canvas, this prototyping and animation tool allows you to quickly create advanced, vector-based screen designs. It’s widely regarded as one of the best high-fidelity prototyping tools available. You can use InVision Studio to accelerate your workflow, create interesting, interactive prototypes, communicate your designs to the team and clients, test your designs, and resolve questions, concerns, and design changes before the development stage.
Features:
- Resize and crop images without masks
- Fix elements as you scroll
- Link several artboards into one animation
- Create swipe triggers for parallax animations
- Create responsive prototypes without writing code
- Mirror prototypes to your phone
- Use Sketch-like shortcuts
- Toggle between light and dark themes
- Collaborate with the team in real-time
Pricing:
- Free
- Pro: $4/user/month (billed annually), for Cross-collaborative teams
- Enterprise: Custom pricing depending on your requirements.
Webflow
A visual website builder that allows designers to create custom websites without writing code.
Webflow is a website builder and hosting platform that empowers designers, businesses, and individuals to create websites without writing any code. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface and vast design capabilities, Webflow makes it easy for users to create custom, professional-looking websites without the need for coding knowledge. It offers a range of templates and design elements that can be easily customized, allowing users to build unique and engaging websites that reflect their brand’s personality and values.
In addition to its website builder, Webflow also provides hosting and domain management services, making it a one-stop shop for all things related to website creation and management. The platform offers robust SEO features, e-commerce capabilities, and integration with popular tools such as Google Analytics and Mailchimp. Whether you’re an individual looking to build a personal website or a business looking to create an online presence, Webflow provides all the tools you need to create and manage a professional-looking website with ease.
Features:
- Intuitive drag-and-drop website builder
- No coding required
- Customizable templates and design elements
- Hosting and domain management
- Robust SEO features
- E-commerce capabilities
- Integration with popular tools (Google Analytics, Mailchimp)
Pricing:
- Free
- Basic: $14/month if billed annually
- CMS: $23/month if billed annually, 2000 CMS items
- Business plan: $39/month if billed annually, 10,000 CMS items
- Custom enterprise plans are available for businesses with specific needs.
Blender
A free and open-source 3D graphics software that can be used for web design, animation, and product visualization.
Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software toolset used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, motion graphics, interactive 3D applications, and computer games. It was first released in January 1995 and is widely used by professionals and hobbyists alike, due to its versatile feature set and ease of use. Blender is available for various operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux, and it can be run on both personal computers and supercomputers.
Blender is known for its robust set of features that include advanced simulation tools, particle and hair physics, a customizable user interface, and a wide range of export options. Its non-linear video editing capabilities are also widely used, making it a popular choice for video production. Blender also supports a vast library of add-ons, which are user-created scripts that extend its capabilities even further. The community of users and developers behind Blender is active and constantly working to improve the software, making it a valuable resource for the digital content creation industry.
Features:
- It supports various operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Advanced simulation tools, particle and hair physics, customizable UI, and a wide range of export options
- Non-linear video editing capabilities and a vast library of add-ons are available
- The active community of users and developers constantly improving the software
- No pricing information as it is free and open-source software.
Pricing:
- Open Source & Free
Procreate
A digital illustration and painting app for iPad that can be used for web design and prototyping.
Procreate is a powerful and intuitive digital illustration app for iPad, designed for professional artists and graphic designers. The app offers a comprehensive set of tools, including brushes, pencils, and inks, as well as advanced features like layer masks and blend modes. With its intuitive user interface and support for Apple Pencil, Procreate makes it easy for artists to bring their ideas to life on the iPad.
Whether you’re an experienced artist looking for a new digital canvas, or just starting out and looking for a creative outlet, Procreate is a perfect choice. With its powerful tools and wide range of features, it makes it easy to create anything from sketches and drawings to fully-realized digital paintings and illustrations. And with its strong community of users, you’ll find plenty of inspiration, tutorials, and resources to help you along the way.
Features:
- A comprehensive set of digital illustration tools, including brushes, pencils, and inks
- Advanced features like layer masks and blend modes
- The intuitive user interface, optimized for use with Apple Pencil
- Ability to create high-resolution artwork up to 16k by 4k
- Support for image files including PNG, JPG, TIFF, and more
- Time-lapse replay feature to record your creative process
- A strong community of users, with plenty of inspiration, tutorials, and resources
Pricing:
- Procreate is available on the App Store for $9.99 USD.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, product design tools have become an integral part of the product design process, helping designers to streamline their work and produce high-quality results in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. These tools provide a wide range of features, such as prototyping, collaboration, and version control, that make it easier for designers to iterate on their designs and refine their ideas.
The increased accessibility and affordability of these tools have also made it easier for small businesses and individual designers to create professional-quality products, allowing them to compete with larger organizations and bring their ideas to market more quickly.
Overall, the future of product design tools looks bright, with ongoing advancements in technology driving new and innovative features. As the demand for new and innovative products continues to grow, so too will the demand for powerful and intuitive product design tools. With the right tools, designers will be able to turn their ideas into reality more quickly and easily, bringing new and exciting products to market and shaping the future of design and innovation.
