#7: Design Tools for Creators

Improve your creations with awesome design tools (screenshots, videos, icons, logos, and more).

Welcome to the seventh issue of App Chat, the newsletter for busy creators in search of the perfect no/low-code tech stack.

It’s my first issue sent with Substack (I’ve previously used Ghost, then ConvertKit for one issue). If you’re a first-time reader, welcome!

I’m going to cover some design tools that can be very handy for creators (and anyone, really). Some of these, I’ve known about and some I’ve come across only recently.

TinyKiwi

Created by Yossi Segev, TinyKiwi was actually the #1 product on Product Hunt on November 6th.

In their own words:

TinyKiwi is an easy to use yet powerful image editor that helps you create beautiful images of your work to share with your social media audience and boost their engagement.

Pricing: $9/month or $84/year

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Xnapper (read like snapper)

Created by creator-extraordinaire Tony Dinh, Xnapper was also the #1 product of the day (August 23rd, 2022) on Product Hunt (and #1 for the week, #2 for the month).

In their own words:

Take Beautiful Screenshots Instantly. No design skills? No problem. Just Snap → Preview → Share!

Pricing: There’s a launch discount happening as of the writing of this post. All prices are one-time, except for the Team plan.

Basic: $35 $29.99 (1 Mac)
Personal: $55 $39.99 (2 Macs)
Standard: $80 $49.99 (3 Macs)
Team: $5 per device/month (includes custom branding)

NOTE: If you subscribe to the SetApp suite of apps, Xnapper is also available there.

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Screen Studio

No surprise, another #1 product of the day on Product Hunt (November 9th, 2022). Created by Adam Pietrasiak, this tool is like no other I’ve come across.

In their own words:

Beautiful screen recordings in minutes. Promo videos of your digital product as easy as taking a screenshot.

Pricing: Like Xnapper, this tool is pay-once-use-forever. You can download it to test it out, but you can’t export videos.

Standard: $89 (1 Mac)
Extended: $139 (3 Macs)

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Poet

I swear it’s a coincidence that Poet also claimed top spot on Product Hunt (August 21, 2021)! I’m discovering this as I write this issue :) Poet is the brainchild of Callum Mckeefery (also the CEO of reviews.io).

In their own words:

Capture and share Twitter posts as beautiful images. Poet.so makes sharing Twitter posts on other platforms more visual and attention-grabbing.

Pricing: totally free!

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Jitter

Here’s our first app that wasn’t the #1 product on Product Hunt. It was #2 (February 9th, 2021). I see two makers listed on Product Hunt: Sébastien Robaszkiewicz and Etienne Albert.

In their own words:

Jitter is like Figma for motion design: it makes it easy to create animations for your videos, websites or apps, all in the browser.

Pricing: There’s a free Basic plan that provides GIF & Video exports, 720p, 30 fps, unlimited projects.

Pro: $18/month or $144/year (everything in Basic, 1080p, 60 fps (HD), no watermark, priority support.

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Streamline

Aaaaaand we’re back to #1 products on Product Hunt (July 11th, 2021). Too many makers to list them all here, so unlike the above-mentioned apps, this one has a larger team working on it.

In their own words:

Consistent icon and illustration sets for busy creators. Streamline has the world’s largest sets so you never have to mix-and-match incomplete sets together.

Pricing: Along with having more team members, there are many price plans as well. Here’s an animated gif (check out pricing here).

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HandDraw

Ok, finally, an app that didn’t score top honours on Product Hunt, although that is where I found it (today, actually…144 upvotes as I write this). Shubh Wadekar is listed as the maker (also co-founder of We Switched Studio).

In their own words:

Free SVG hand-drawn illustrations that are easy to customize. Download them in the blink of an eye for they are lightweight and minimal.

Pricing: Absolutely free :)

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Logology

This last one isn’t quite a design tool like the others. It’s not 100% self-serve. Dagobert and his wife, Lucie, have designed a catalog of 500+ logos. As someone looking for a logo, you take a brand identity test and they’ll instantly match you with the best ones, paired with the right fonts & colours.

I tried it out for App Chat recently and it’s actually a ton of fun. Here are some of my fave results:

In their own words:

Get a designer-quality logo for your startup. In 5 minutes.

Pricing: As with Streamline, there are several packages to choose from. It’s easier to show you than to try and outline them.

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Well, That's a Wrap

Issue #7 of App Chat is shipped! It’s the first one using Substack, but this is the home of App Chat for the foreseeable future. No more switching platforms :)

The new delivery cadence is the 1st and the 15th, and sometimes in between(th).

As always, if you’ve got any feedback or questions please let me know!