2024 has seen an explosion in AI-powered tools and services, some genuinely helpful, others simply bandwagon jumping.
It is clear that, with or without AI, the things designers and developers find most useful haven’t fundamentally changed: good quality design resources to make good work; productivity tools to get that work done faster; and business helpers to get the job in the first place, and get paid for it while maybe having a little fun along the way.
Each month, we have selected what we hope you will find most useful from the scores of offerings that have become available this past year. And now, as 2024 draws to a close, we’d like to present you with – in our opinion – the best of the best covering all of these areas. Enjoy!
Kittl has been around for a few years now, but 2024 saw some pretty major updates to this design platform. Most notable included an AI copilot, image sets, and improved image generation and editing.
Randoma11y generates colors based on contrast ratio, ensuring that every combination will meet accessibility requirements.
Does what it says on the tin: Screen Ruler lets you get the measurements for elements, margins, and padding without having to drill down in your browser’s devtools.
Balance time tracker acknowledges that taking regular breaks is both good for mental health and makes us more productive in the long run.
Keeping track of the business side of things is a necessary evil for many freelancers, and this simple invoicing and expenses manager is designed to make things easier.
This little stress buster might be our favorite of the year. Keep your cool with clients by taking your frustrations out on this app.
ReCraft’s image generator allows you to create sets of images in a consistent style – handy if you need a set of icons in a hurry.
With Chromafy’s browser extension you can test different color palettes on live sites. Palettes can be up to 5 colors.
Free Faces is a curated gallery of free fonts from a variety of sources. Sort by style for a faster search if you know what you want or have a more leisurely browse.
Tell Intentional what task you want to focus on in a work session, and it will (virtually) slap you on the wrist if you wander off on the web.
If you are looking for an alternative to Behance or Dribbble, Layers is a community platform where designers can share their work. There’s a designers directory and a jobs board, too.
SVGator is an online SVG animation editor that requires no coding skills to use.
This little utility brings up a floating Finder window when you hover over the notch on your MacBook screen – a small thing but surprisingly helpful.
Scope creep is a real problem for freelancers and small agencies. Scopey acts like an account exec by helping produce detailed quotes and managing change requests and cost updates.
Fonts Ninja’s latest offering is this fonts showcase. Bookmark fonts you like, and when you’ve made up your mind, follow the link to buy directly from the creator foundry.
Defeat the blank page/screen by giving MoodBoard a few keywords and its AI will generate a mood board to get you started.
This timer is simple, but there’s something fun and appealing about it. Set it by pulling it down from your (Mac) menu bar.
If you’re stuck with too small or too low-quality images, Gigapixel AI can step in. Its algorithm can enlarge images without loss of quality and clean up pixelation.
Atomize design system for Figma includes 200+ styles, 200+ variables, 700+ components, and sample screens. Use it as design scaffolding to speed up your UI build time.
TimeFrame brings together to-do lists, time trackers, task timers, and calendars in one app to help boost your productivity.
Font Interceptor not only identifies all the fonts on a chosen web page, it lets you download them and try them out. Note: the people behind this do not support stealing fonts.
If you are someone who finds gamification helpful, Focumon might be for you: it’s a productivity timer that collects and trains ‘monsters’ for you as you work.
Done is a simple weekly planner with a minimal, intuitive user interface. It has the functionality you need without taking up your time to use it.
Rohesta is a serif font best suited to display. It makes a strong statement, with a nostalgic feel thanks to its elegant curves.
Sidekick is a chromium based browser designed to boost productivity. As well as blocking distracting adverts and notifications, it integrates your most used web apps and keeps your tabs organized.
Create and edit design mockups from screenshots using Shotune’s online editor.
Spectrum is a library of over 100 free, editable vector shapes. There are all sorts of shapes, from simple circles to complex stars, with more to be added regularly.
Drop is a file transfer platform aimed at creatives. It allows you to showcase and share your work as well as simply send files.
This UI component library is built in React, Tailwind CSS, and Framer Motion. Components are animated, fully customizable, and free, with a paid option for templates and sections. Coding skills are required.
HourlyRate is a platform for freelancers and small businesses that now combines a jobs board with CRM and accounting facilities. Based on your profile, it can suggest jobs from multiple boards, including Behance, LinkedIn and Freelancer.
