🥇 My favorite (and recommended) Product Design tools stack
As Product Designers, we will be using different tools for Research, Mapping, Wireframing, Designing High-res mockups, Prototyping, well; to get things done 🚀 In this post I’ll show my favorite tool stack and why I recommend it for your everyday work. Let’s start!
Zoom
Yes! One of the most important tools of my everyday, specially when doing User Research or User Testing, is Zoom. Zoom allows me to control and save sessions with users. Almost everybody knows it and have account so, when asking users to have a call 99% of the time they know how to use it and the flow of the calls will be cool.
Calendly
I highly recommend Calendly to organize your calls specially when you have to accord a meet with somebody. Instead of asking, send mails, etc. you can just send them a link and they will be able to see your avalilable slots, separate one and then have the call in the accorded time. As simple and effective like that.
Miro
Imagination is the limit with Miro. Miro is an ‘infinite’ witheboard you can use to put all the maps, graphs, sketchs, information, post-its, etc. You can grant access to all your team to this board and can collaborate in real time. Normally I use it for: Information Architecture, Mapping, Task Flows, Design Sprints, etc.
Yes, now we have FigJam integrated with Figma (will talk about this tool soon) but being honest, I prefer Miro over FigJam. This does not mean FigJam is a bad tool. It is just it is too young yet and the experience with Miro is smoother than Figma (personal opinion, btw.)
Concepts App (for iPad Users)
Having an iPad + Apple Pencil changed my workflow for good. Months ago I discovered Concepts a great App I use mostly to make wireframes and notes about them. The experience of wireframing using the equivalent of paper + pencil has no price. I deftly wireframe smoother with Concepts.
Figma
Surely the App I use most in my everyday. In my workflow I use Figma for Mid and High-res mock-ups, left Hand Offs for the Dev Team and prototype. Figma is now the standard of the industry for designing interfaces. It has everything I need to design interfaces and prototype. Figma is that cool that I also use it to design my decks 😜
Loom
Discovered it recently and fell in love with this tool. Loom let’s you to record your screen and make great videos about what you need. Also, saves your records in folders, you can share those with your Team, your Team can comment and respond your videos, well. Loom saves me tons of time. Now instead of having calls to show progress or something similar, I record a Loom video and then I can share it with the Team. No unnecessary calls, great tool for remote Teams.
Maze
When testing with users my first option will always be Maze. Maze has everything I need to test prototypes with users. All information Maze gives me after testing is very useful and I can make reports for the Team and take the decisions needed. Maze has a free version that works very cool to initiate with and test the tool.
Notion
Last but not least, my favorite one to document processes, decisions, stages, document the Design System, etc. Notion is very friendly-to-use. It has let my Team to have everything organized and have a single source of truth.
I have about +3 years working with remote Teams distributed in different countries, the stack has had lots of variations through the time, and this one is, for now, the most effective I have ever worked with. Let me know your thoughts about this one and any recommendation of tools is always welcomed!
Cheers!
