In today’s world, it seems like there is an app for everything. People are spending more and more time on their phones, and at The Cirlot Agency, that’s a good thing. Apps play a big role in helping us work efficiently every day. Here are 13 apps that help us with everything from inspiration and editing to organization and education.
1. Adobe Color CC
Formerly Adobe Kuler, this app allows you to capture inspiring color combinations, upload them directly to your Creative Cloud Library and share color schemes and other assets with your colleagues. Using this app, our designers are able to save color swatches for client projects when they least expect it.
“This is one of my favorite apps for color inspiration! It allows you to take pictures and pull color swatches from the image or from one on your camera roll.” Brooke Boyd – Graphic Artist
2. What The Font
Similar to Adobe Color CC, What the Font allows you to discover the names of typefaces you find “in the wild.” With this useful tool, Cirlot’s designers are able to capture type and either upload an image or specify an image URL. Then the app directly connects them with the typeface that is the closest match in its database.
3. Instagram
What better place to find inspiration than from other creative thinkers? Cirlot’s artists and social media team use Instagram to tell our clients’ stories visually. What’s even better is Instagram’s business account support. On the Business Blog (http://blog.business.instagram.com), Instagram often provides best practices and examples of great social media photography and graphics.
4. Snapseed
Snapseed is a free, high-quality editing app from Google that allows us to make basic image enhancements or add a creative touch to our iPhone photos. Despite the simple interface, this tool has some powerful capabilities perfect for editing and sharing, whether we’re at our workstations or on a tradeshow floor.
5. Squareready
Have you ever taken a picture that you wanted to post to Instagram, but it is automatically gets cropped awkwardly? At Cirlot, we use Squareready to ensure that we never have an un-postable moment, by resizing the image to fit on Instagram.
6. Holy Bible
In the Agency’s fast-paced environment, sometimes we have to slow down and find encouragement from the Holy Bible App. In the palm of your hand, this app manages our favorite Bible editions and provides study features, such as reading plans, notes, bookmarks and highlighting.
“It’s a great way to start out the work day and keep God’s word close to your heart.” – Steve Erickson, Executive Art Director
7. Evernote
For the Cirlot team, Evernote is the ideal tool for taking notes and organizing ideas. Whether we’re at the office, traveling or think of an idea before bed, we can keep track of our work across all of our devices.
“It has a great dictation feature that allows me to record my thoughts as I am traveling to and from work and meetings. It’s tagging feature allows me to categorize all of my notes, making it easier to find in the future. In addition, it syncs to all of my devices so I never have to worry about leaving my notebook at the office.” – Mary Hampton Nicholas, Manager of Public Relations Strategy
8. 1password
Since the Agency has many different passwords, we use this app to help us keep track of all of our accounts; it’s the ultimate password protector. It can also help you create unique and secure passwords all while syncing data across multiple devices so that you can concentrate on the task at hand. With this app, you don’t have to interrupt your workflow to find the login information for an account.
9. Google Authenticator
Speaking of security, Google Authenticator helps Cirlot protect its websites with a 2-Step Verification process. The app generates a time-sensitive number that must be used with the login password to gain access to a site.
10. Dictionary.com
Everyone needs access to a great dictionary and thesaurus, and at Cirlot, we use the Dictionary.com app. To spell check, find meanings or word inspiration, this straightforward app is an essential tool in every Cirlot employee’s arsenal.
“I use the Dictionary.com app almost daily, especially when coming up with product names.” – Lynda Lesley, VP, Creative Director
11. HT Professional Recorder
As an on-the-go PR professional, it is imperative to have a reliable recorder on your phone. Although this app is $14.99, you will be assured of never missing another quote, and the best part is – the audio can be edited straight from the app, compressed and emailed as an attachment to whomever you’d like. That’s efficiency at its finest!
12. Urbanspoon
We’ve found that when we’re out of town for business, Urbanspoon is great for helping us find local spots to wine and dine our clients or colleagues. It provides all the information you need about a restaurant in one place and will even connect you to your maps application for directions. What more could you ask for?
13. Podcasts
Keeping up with the latest industry trends and news isn’t always easy during the busy workweek. But with Apple’s Podcasts app, we can stay current without sacrificing time. We listen while getting ready in the morning, during our office commute or while we’re eating lunch. It’s even a great app to help pass the time while flying or in the airport during a layover.