Some Really Big Reasons Why designers Need Project Management Tools
Working as a designer is not an easy job, even when it is something you’re passionate about. There are times when you’ll be unorganized or in mess. Are you the one who spends more time clearing the clutter than actually designing? Are you struggling to keep up the things organized in your design process?
The design process is no longer carried forward individually. There are several steps that are done with a team sport. Let’s first see the steps that define a design process.
What is the design process?
A quality web design is following a step-by-step approach to web design projects to develop a successful online presence. In this post, we’ll break down the website design process into 7 stages:
1. Goal identification: This is a phase to gather information about the client’s business and industry.
2. Scope definition: The scope of the project takes care of the timeline for building the design and other design preferences.
3. Sitemap and wireframe creation: From the information gathered, look for the feel of your site. Start digging into the sitemap.
4. Content creation: Content will be the information you will have to give to your target audience.
5. Visual elements: The visual style will include the right tools like style tiles, mood boards, and other elements.
6. Testing: Check if the code written for the website validates.
7. Launch: Finally, it’s time to launch. Make sure you haven’t missed any step.
When people from different regions come together to follow these steps, project management tools get critically essential. Truth is, no designer can afford to run the risk of mismanagement of web design projects. And the whole process can get overwhelming without the right project management tool in place. So, here are a few reasons why you would need a project management tool along with some best-used tools for the same.
Reasons Why Designers Need Project Management Tools
1. Proofing designs
How do you manage to keep your clients in the loop while retaining the majority of your sanity? Designers create a lot of designs every day, be it banners, logos, websites, Ads, videos, graphics and much more. Spending too much time wasting on planning and managing the project is way too difficult. There will be a lack of coordination, inability to track overall progress, and a complete haphazard. This makes it important to look for an online proofing tool for designers.
Proofing tool like ProofHub for designing teams will manage all tasks easily and hassle-free. ProofHub is a versatile tool loved by many web designers and developers due to its proofing and task management capabilities. It brings together teams, stakeholders, file instantly, adds comments, highlights the flaws in the design while keeping everyone in the loop, keep clients under one roof and makes the review and approval process quick and easy. Try ProofHub for yourself for free.
2. Collaboration and communication
Communicating designs well give designs the right direction. Designers have to work beyond the cultural differences to serve the global community. There are remote workers working together for a client. While working remotely with a team, there creates a communication gap that makes it difficult to understand the changes made to the design. Therefore, online collaborative tools and project management for designers can streamline their communication and productivity. One such tool is InVision.
Collaboration is one of InVision’s strongest attribute. InVision is a well-known tool for working in collaboration with different teams to keep the entire design workflow connected. It streamlines the flow of getting feedback, approving an idea, and finalizing a design. Designers can easily communicate with fellow designers and their clients for suggestions, ideas, and more. InVision has a captivating inbuilt application where peer can collaborate and conclude a decision. More than 1.5 million designers use InVision to power their design process.
3. Successful time tracking
Proper time management for some designers helps to track their time, keep them more self-disciplined and improve the way they plan their design process. Many designers are using time tracking to meet deadlines, goals, and stay on budget. To avoid wasting any time, invest in a time tracking tool to diligently track the time you spend on each project, client, and design throughout the day.
TimeCamp is a time tracking tool for designers to sort timesheet and have the ability to select billable, non-billable, or both in all reports. It is designed to be simple and easy to use. This system offers calculating billable tasks, creating invoices, time management, and tracking attendance. Designers can create bills on the basis of complexity, employees assigned, and working hours. TimeCamp integrates with many applications and comes with add-on features for additional functionality.
Life is too short for endless revisions. Cut them off with ProofHub. Sign up here. It’s free!
4. Budget Management
There are many things to juggle for a designer, but finance should be the most important on the list. Online budget management tools will make it easier to handle designs, check where you spend your money, and keep finances in control. Web based Project management tool helps the designers to determine the work budget so work can be aligned accordingly.
This money management software automatically will let you have a look at your financial picture quickly and easily. Simply connect the app to your accounts and track your bill. You will know how much cash you have that is not needed for bills.
5. Software development
Software development, design collaboration apps, and prototyping tools help agile teams get on the same page. Successful software development Agile leads to better results.
Git and Github have radically changed the way OSS is developed. Yes, designers can use Github as well. There is a sketch plugin allowing designers to use it directly in Sketch. The Github workflow is very flexible, with a nice web interface and allows you to collaborate with other project members. It allows social coding by providing a web interface to the Git code repository and management tools for collaboration.
6. File syncing and document management
How do you share your design assets? File sharing is essential for designers for collaboration and keeping things organized.
Dropbox is a cloud-based file hosting, syncing and sharing service. If you’re a solo designer and need to keep the client updated, Dropbox is for you. Designers and developers can send and share files across teams, have a central workspace for assets, and work simultaneously as a team.
Final Thoughts
We hope you find out this list of project management software for creatives useful for your design process. Based on your design process the requirements, start using one that matches your needs. You definitely need a platform to communicate with your team and clients all the time.
Good luck!
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