Design Shack

Sketch Templates / 5 Aug 2020

Sketch vs. Figma vs. Adobe XD: Which Design Tool Is Best for Beginners?

There comes a time when every designer needs to decide which design tool they’re going to settle down with for the rest of their career. If you’re in the process of finding your perfect design tool or looking for a replacement, this guide is for you.

Sketch app used to hold the throne as one of the most versatile design apps out there. That’s until two new contenders surfaced to challenge the throne—Figma and Adobe XD.

Both Figma and Adobe XD apps are not only developed by industry leaders but offer some amazing features that managed to steal many users away from Sketch. Of course, Sketch is still one of the best UX design tools available today as well.

For beginning designers, it can be frustrating to find the right tool for their work. In this article, we aim to provide a solid answer to that problem, by comparing Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD against one another. Let’s dive in.

App Templates / 4 Aug 2020

15+ Best Android App Templates (For Mobile Apps) 2020

Developing an app takes a lot of time and work. But, what if there’s a way to build an Android app without writing a single line of code or investing thousands of dollars in app development? That’s exactly what Android app templates allow you to do.

Using an Android app template, you can build a fully functional app for your business, online store, and create powerful native and web-apps without having to break the bank.

In this post, we feature some of the best pre-made Android app templates you can use to build your own mobile apps without coding.

CV & Resume Templates / 3 Aug 2020

50+ Best CV & Resume Templates 2020

A first impression can either make or break your chance of landing a dream job. So choosing one of the best resume templates can give you a fantastic head start. These modern CV templates for Word, Pages, and InDesign are the perfect starting point for creating your new and improved resume!

These beautifully designed resume templates will help you stand out from the crowd, help you showcase the right skills, and improve your chances of landing the job. Some of the templates are free, and others cost a few dollars. All of them are absolutely beautiful!

Having a modern, professional resume doesn’t necessarily mean you will land the job, but it’s a great way to make sure you get the interview! And once you’ve chosen one, remember to read through our guide on how to customize a CV or resume template to make your own mark.

Lightroom Presets / 31 Jul 2020

50+ Best Lightroom Presets for Portraits (Free & Pro) 2020

You don’t have to be a pro photographer or a graphic designer to optimize and enhance your portrait photos. With the right Adobe Lightroom preset for portraits, you can apply stunning effects, all by yourself.

In this collection, we feature the best Lightroom presets available for quickly optimizing your portrait photos, selfies, wedding photos, and family photos.

Using these Lightroom presets for portraits, you can enhance your photos like a pro by applying effects instantly (and even customize them to your preference with ease). And don’t forget to read through our tips for using presets on portrait photos for helpful advice on how to integrate them into your workflow!

Features / 30 Jul 2020

Figma Templates

Figma is a vector-based tool that lives in the cloud, allowing users to work anywhere from a browser. It’s a zippy tool that is made for design, prototyping, collaboration, and organizational design systems.

In this feature, we’ll be teaching you all about Figma, how to get started using it, and where to find the best Figma templates and plugins to get started fast. Whether you’re wanting to use Figma for wireframing, mobile user interface designs, app designs, website designs, or anything else, we’ve got you covered!

Inspiration / 29 Jul 2020

20+ Best Free Final Cut Pro (FCP) Templates, Plugins, Titles & Transitions

Final Cut Pro is one of the best tools you can use for video editing, especially if you’re a Mac user. With the help of templates and plugins, you can create amazing video projects using the software.

There are so many amazing Final Cut Pro templates and plugins out there. And we handpicked some of the best templates for this list. You’ll find many different types of plugins, title templates, transition effects, social media templates, and much more in the collection.

The best part is all these templates and plugins are free to download. You can even use some of the templates with commercial projects for free. Most of the templates are also compatible with Apple Motion as well.

Have a look and start downloading.

Wedding Design / 29 Jul 2020

50 Wonderful Wedding Invitation & Card Design Samples

It’s astounding how many people weddings provide employment to: photographers, caterers, florists, and even designers can make a great living by focusing partially or even completely on clients planning their marriage.

Wedding invitation card design is one of the most creative areas of print design today. Talented designers really pull out all the stops and create some amazingly inspirational pieces. Keep reading to see fifty astounding examples of wedding invitation design (and a few trends to watch out for).

Software / 28 Jul 2020

15+ Best Final Cut Pro Tutorials for Beginners 2020

Goal: Edit videos, add effects, and create better productions with ease in Final Cut Pro. Solution: You need a stellar tutorial that walks you through all the steps in this increasingly popular video editing tool.

Thanks to great tutorials from pros, you’ll be able to capture just the right moment, with the right effect quickly.

We’ve rounded up some of the best Final Cut Pro tutorials out there for beginners to help you make the most of this software. Note that Final Cut Pro is a robust tool, but it is only available for the Mac.

Graphics / 28 Jul 2020

What Is a Design System & Why Use Them + Examples

Design systems can be found everywhere and in almost everything. They are in the operating system running on your smartphone, the laptop you’re using for work, and even on the websites you visit.

But what is a design system anyway? What goes into a design system? Why use them? We’re going to answer these questions in this article while taking a closer look at design systems and their importance.

Design systems are not something exclusively used by big brands and design agencies. Even if you’re a freelance designer or a small business, a design system can go a long way to improve the quality of your work, designs, and products.

Let’s dive in and see how you can integrate design systems into your own design projects.

Inspiration / 27 Jul 2020

40+ Best Social Media Kit Templates & Graphics

Are you working on crafting a content plan to promote your brand and business on social media? Then these social media kits and templates will help you design amazing graphics for your social media campaigns like a pro.

Preparing content for your social media promotions is a time-consuming process that most social media managers and marketers have to deal with.

But don’t worry. You can use these social media kits and graphics templates designed by professionals to quickly edit and use with your own social media campaigns. The best part is you can easily edit and customize them all by yourself (and we’re sharing some helpful social media template tips to help get you started!)

Software / 27 Jul 2020

15+ Most Helpful Affinity Designer Tutorials (+ Reviews) in 2020

Affinity Designer is a vector or raster app. It’s a competitor to Adobe’s Illustrator and allows you to design various elements for print or digital publication.

It’s part of the Affinity package of design tools made by Serif. Use it to do anything from making a business card to mock up an app. Affinity Designer is made for Mac iOS, Windows, and the iPad.

Here, we’ve collected some of the best for everyone from beginners to more seasoned pros, a mix of video and written tutorials. It’s a great place to start for upskilling with your first steps in Affinity Designer!

Inspiration / 24 Jul 2020

40+ Best Number Fonts for Displaying Numbers

The style of numbers and digits is particularly important in graphic design, and no less so when designing a typeface. Although every font has a unique look-and-feel, very few stand out specifically when it comes to the design of their numbers and digits.

After scouring the web, we’ve tracked down a few great examples of number fonts, and typefaces that do something particularly unique with their numbers. Some of these fonts are directed only towards digits, while others are complete packs of alphabets and numbers. Hopefully, they’ll help you in your search for a great number font for your next project!

Features / 23 Jul 2020

Mockup Templates

Mockup templates provide a way to showcase a design, project, or UI quickly and easily in a real-life setting. All without having to take photos or stage items yourself.

In this feature, we’re teaching you how to use mockups, how to choose effective templates, and showing you where to find the best mockup templates for dozens of different design projects.

Whether you’re looking to showcase an iPhone app on a real-life iPhone, put your stationery design on real-life stationery (without printing it!), or showcase your awesome new t-shirt design on a real-life model, a mockup template will do the trick.

Software / 23 Jul 2020

Best Project Management Software for Creatives 2020

It’s sometimes said that creativity is ‘born out of chaos.’ These words conjure up romantic images of wild-hearted creatives, working all hours, breaking all the rules and, from a fog of confusion, conjuring unique work that changes the world.

But while that all have a certain appeal, personally I’ve never really felt it’s all that healthy – or that true.

Actually, I’ve always found the opposite to be the case.

The very best creative work, in my opinion, relies on structure and consistency, much more than wildness and insanity. It’s based on order and organization – rather than chaos and disorder.

If you’re looking to get more structured, more organized in your work, you’re not alone. Luckily, there’s a huge array of project management software tools designed to give you exactly what you need.

But that’s a blessing and a curse: with so many options available, which one do you choose? Which one’s right for you? In this article, we’ve created a rundown of the very BEST project management tools for creatives in 2020.

Let’s get to it!