Tools I use every day as a creative professional

As a creative professional there are many tools that I can choose to work with, however, there are a very small set of applications that I use on a daily basis to help me deliver great work for my clients.

This list isn’t a detailed breakdown of why I love these creative tools (although let me know if you want me to write about that) but more to give you an idea of what I use every day to create products for myself and my clients.

Website Design and Development

Webflow

Webflow is a powerful application which allows people to build websites without writing any code. In 2021 I transitioned from WordPress to exclusively using Webflow as the framework to build websites for all my clients.

Zapier

This tool allows me automate tasks across many different applications. With Zapier I can easily integrate my websites with all the other tools that I use like MailChimp or Airtable. Like Webflow, it is a no code tool so it’s fantastic for creatives that aren’t programmers.

Airtable

For more complex web projects Airtable is must. It allows me to dynamically collect data (with help from Zapier) and use it as a database to power my Webflow websites.

Creative Production

Davinci Resolve

All of my video and audio needs are handled easily with Davinci Resolve. If you are getting into video production you can’t go wrong with Resolve. Best of all, you can get a lifetime license for one single payment. Did I mention that they have a free version which contains probably 95% of the features you’d want to use?

Affinity

The Affinity suite of products (Photo, Designer, Publisher) are competitors to Adobe. As much as I do enjoy using Adobe products, I wanted to find an alternative to continually paying for software without actually owning it. Time will tell whether Affinity will be a suitable replacement for Adobe, but my initial impressions are positive.

Marketing and Analytics

MailChimp

All my email lists are managed with MailChimp. I’m not in love with MailChimp, but it does email very well and offers lots of flexibility with organizing my contacts which is what I need it to do.

Fathom

Fathom is a Google Analytics alternative that focuses on privacy. I love the fact that I can receive detailed information on how people are engaging with my websites without having to invade their privacy. Another great company building a great product.

Mixpanel

Mixpanel gives me more detailed data around how people are engaging within Piixel Pieces. It allows me to track which components are being used by my members which helps inform me on what I can build to make my platform better.

Productivity

Asana

Asana is a project management tool which helps me keep track of everything that I need to do within my company. It also allows me to work and communicate asynchronously with my clients. Each client I work with gets invited to a private project where we plan, organize, and execute all work that needs to be done.

HEY

HEY is a new way to do email which I absolutely love. With HEY, email is now simplified and enjoyable, much like it was when we were first introduced to email all those years ago.

While this isn’t the full list of tools that I use as a creative professional, these are the tools that I use pretty much every day and are essential to my business.