You’re a UIUX designer? looking UIUX design resources for improve your workflow. There are so many free tools and resources out there, it can be hard to figure out what’s worth your time. Have no fear, we’ve got you covered. We scoured the internet to find 15 of the best free UIUX design resources to add to your toolkit. Whether you need help with wireframing, prototyping, collaboration, or just finding inspiration, these tools will help boost your productivity and creativity. Get ready to power up your UIUX workflow with these 15 essential resources. Say goodbye to time-consuming manual tasks and hello to a streamlined design process. Your future designs will thank you.
Mocking Up Designs: Figma, Sketch
When it comes to mocking up UI designs, Figma and Sketch are two of the best free tools out there. Both of these tools make it easy to create mockups, wireframes, prototypes and more.
Figma is a browser-based design tool, so you don’t have to download any software to get started. You can simply sign up for a free account and start building mockups right away in their web app. Figma has a simple drag and drop interface, pre-made UI kits to speed up your workflow, and real-time collaboration so you can work with teammates.
Sketch is a popular design tool for Mac users. While you do have to download their app to use it, they offer a generous free trial to test it out. Sketch is packed with features like artboards, symbols, and reusable components that make mocking up interfaces a breeze. They also have a huge collection of plugins to enhance the app.
\n\n###Comparing the Two
Both Figma and Sketch are excellent for mocking up UI designs, so which one should you choose? Here are some factors to consider:
• Platform: If you prefer browser-based tools, go with Figma. For Mac users, Sketch may be more convenient.
• Learning curve: Figma has a gentler learning curve and is more beginner-friendly. Sketch is a bit more complex to pick up.
• Features: Sketch currently has a few more advanced features, but Figma is quickly catching up. Either choice will work great for most UI design needs.
• Collaboration: Figma’s real-time collaboration makes it ideal if you work with a team. Sketch’s collaboration features are more limited.
• Cost: Figma has a free forever plan, while Sketch is free to try but requires a paid license.
In the end, you can’t go wrong with either of these UI design tools. Try them both out and see which one suits your needs and preferences best. Happy designing!
Prototyping Apps: InVision, Framer, Principle
When it comes to prototyping apps, you have a lot of excellent free options to choose from. Here are three of the best:
InVision is a popular tool for creating interactive prototypes of mobile apps, websites, and more. With InVision, you can upload images of your app screens and connect them to create a clickable prototype. It has a simple drag and drop interface, so you don’t need any coding skills to get started. InVision also has collaboration features that allow you to share your prototypes and gather feedback from teammates and clients.
Framer is a robust prototyping tool for UI and UX designers. It uses a code-based approach, so you’ll need to know some JavaScript to build prototypes in Framer. The benefit is that you have a lot of flexibility and power. Framer prototypes can include complex interactions and animations. Even if you’re not a coder, Framer has a visual editor and pre-made components that make it easy to put together a prototype without writing any code.
Principle makes it simple to design animated and interactive user interfaces. Like Framer, Principle uses a code-free drag and drop interface. You can create beautiful prototypes with Principle, including adding transitions, gestures, and animations to bring your designs to life. Principle prototypes work on iOS and Android devices, so you can see how your UI will function on actual mobile screens.
With so many options, the biggest challenge is choosing where to start. But you really can’t go wrong with any of these prototyping tools. Give them a try and see which one matches your needs and skill level. Your UI will thank you!
Wireframing Tools: Balsamiq, Wireframe.cc
Wireframing is an important step in any UI/UX design process. It allows you to layout content, user flows and key functionality before expending hours on visual design. These free wireframing tools will help you map out your ideas quickly.
Balsamiq
Balsamiq is one of the most popular wireframing tools. It has a simple drag-and-drop interface and pre-made UI elements to help you mock up desktop and mobile apps, websites and more. You can link screens together, add hotspots and export your wireframes. The free version lets you wireframe up to 3 active projects.
Wireframe.cc
Wireframe.cc is a simple yet capable tool for creating low-fidelity wireframes. It has pre-made components for common UI elements like buttons, menus and image placeholders. You can easily resize and reposition elements by dragging them around the artboard. Wireframe.cc has both desktop and mobile templates and lets you view your wireframes on multiple devices. The free version provides enough functionality for most needs.
Some other free wireframing tools to consider include:
- Mockflow: A full-featured wireframing tool with collaboration features. The free version lets you wireframe up to 2 active projects.
- Mockplus: A popular tool for wireframing desktop and mobile apps. It has a simple drag-and-drop interface and built-in components. The free version is fully functional but limits you to 3 active projects.
- Pencil Project: An open-source wireframing tool with a basic feature set. It lets you create wireframes for web and mobile interfaces. Since it’s open source, the free version has no project limits. However, the interface is fairly basic.
- WireframeSketcher: A desktop wireframing tool available for Windows and Mac. It has a drag-and-drop interface and components for common UI elements. The free version lets you create an unlimited number of wireframes but limits export options.
These wireframing tools provide an easy way to translate your UI/UX ideas into low-fidelity prototypes without needing advanced design skills. Try a few options to find one that matches your needs and workflow. The free versions offer enough to get started, then you can always upgrade to a paid plan for more advanced features.
Icon Resources: The Noun Project, Flat Icon, Font Awesome
The Noun Project is a massive collection of over 2 million icons that are all free to download and use. Whether you need icons for a mobile app, website, or presentation, you’ll find plenty of options here. Icons come in a variety of styles, including flat, line, solid, and hand-drawn. You can browse by category or search for a specific icon. All icons can be downloaded as SVG, PNG, and font files.
Flat Icon is another great resource with over 60,000 free icons. The icons have a minimal, flat style that works well for many UI/UX projects. You can download icons individually or in bundled sets. File formats include SVG, PNG, font, and Sketch. Flat Icon also offers premium icon sets for purchase if you need something more customized.
Font Awesome is a popular icon font with over 1,500 free icons. The icons can be embedded directly in your HTML using a font tag. You simply specify the icon you want to use by its name. Font Awesome is a convenient option if you want to include icons in a web page or web app. The icons scale smoothly and look crisp at any size. In addition to the free icons, Font Awesome Pro offers over 9,000 premium icons and additional features like icon sprites, SVG framework, and hosting.
In summary, here are three excellent free resources to power up your icon needs:
•The Noun Project – Massive collection of over 2 million free icons in various styles. Offers SVG, PNG and font file downloads.
•Flat Icon – Over 60,000 minimal free icons for download as SVG, PNG, font and Sketch files. Premium icon sets also available.
•Font Awesome – Popular icon font with over 1,500 free icons that can be embedded directly into HTML. Easy to scale and customize. Font Awesome Pro offers many more premium icons and features.
Using a mix of icon fonts, packs, and individual icons from these resources will ensure you have everything you need to bring your UI/UX designs to life. Happy icon hunting!
Stock Photo Sites: Unsplash, Pexels, StockSnap, Gratisography
When it comes to finding high-quality stock photos, there are some excellent free resources for UIUX designers. Here are a few of my favorites:
Unsplash
Unsplash is one of the most popular stock photo sites, with over 2 million+ photos and counting. Their images are free to use for both personal and commercial projects. They have a clean, contemporary style and cover a wide range of categories like nature, travel, business, and technology.
Pexels
Pexels is another fantastic option with over 2 million stock photos and videos available for free. Their library is growing by nearly 10,000 new images per day. Pexels has a similar modern and stylish esthetic to Unsplash. They also allow you to filter by color or image orientation, which is helpful for finding just the right shot.
Stocksnap
Stocksnap is a more niche stock photo site but still offers over 500,000 free images. Their photos tend to focus on lifestyle, travel, food, and landscape themes. The quality is very high, and like Unsplash and Pexels, the images are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero license so you can use them for both personal and commercial projects with no attribution required.
Gratisography
If quirky and offbeat is more your style, check out Gratisography. They have over 600 free stock photos, illustrations, and textures, all with a rather peculiar and eccentric vibe. The images would be perfect for any fun or lighthearted designs. Gratisography releases 3-5 new photos each week, so there’s always something fresh.
Using stock photos in your UIUX designs is a great way to save time and resources. With so many high-quality free stock photo sites available, you’ll have no trouble finding images that fit your needs. Go forth and let these useful tools power up your workflow!
Color Palette Generators: Coolors, Color Hunt, Adobe Color
Color palette generators are essential tools for any UI/UX designer. They help you quickly create color schemes that are visually appealing and work well together. Here are a few of the best free options:
Coolors
Coolors is a simple but powerful color palette generator. Just click the space bar and it will generate a new palette for you. You can lock in colors you like and keep generating new options. It gives you the color codes to easily import into your designs. Coolors has options for monochromatic, analogous, triadic, and tetradic color schemes.
Color Hunt
Color Hunt has over 35,000 palettes created by designers from around the world. You can browse by color or palette and filter by specific hues. When you find a palette you like, you can save it to your account or download the color codes. Color Hunt is a great resource when you need inspiration or want to see examples of successful color combinations.
Adobe Color
Adobe Color, formerly Adobe Kuler, integrates directly with other Adobe Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, and XD. You can generate color themes based on images, color swatches, or keywords. Adobe Color provides the color codes along with tints and shades to give you a full color system. You can create, save, and share your own palettes or choose from thousands of palettes made by other designers.
Using tools like these color palette generators will make it easy to find a great color scheme for any UI/UX design project. Play around with different options until you find a palette with a nice balance of colors that captures the right mood or tone for your needs. Keep these resources on hand for when you need a quick burst of color inspiration!
Typography Resources: Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, DaFont
When it comes to typography, UI/UX designers have a lot of free resources at their fingertips. Here are a few of the top typography tools available:
Google Fonts
Google Fonts is hands-down the largest free font library on the web with over 1000 fonts to choose from. They have a huge selection of serif, sans-serif, display, and handwritten fonts. The best part is they are optimized for the web, so you can easily embed them on your site.
Adobe Fonts
Adobe Fonts (formerly Typekit) gives you access to thousands of fonts as part of your Creative Cloud subscription. They offer high-quality fonts from reputable foundries. While not free, if you already subscribe to Creative Cloud, Adobe Fonts is an invaluable resource.
DaFont
DaFont is one of the largest archives of free fonts on the web. They offer over 10,000 free fonts in a variety of styles. While the quality can be hit or miss, DaFont is a great place to browse for fonts if you’re on a budget. They do allow commercial use of their fonts, but double check the license for details.
Font Squirrel
Font Squirrel is a curated collection of over 2,200 free fonts. They handpick high-quality, commercial-use fonts and make them available for download. They have a simple but robust search to help you find the perfect font for your project.
Lost Type Co-Op
Lost Type is a pay-what-you-want font foundry. They offer high-quality fonts for UI/UX designers and charge on a sliding scale starting at free. If you do choose to pay, the fees go directly to the font designers. It’s a great way to get premium fonts for an affordable price.
Between these comprehensive typography resources, you’ll have every free or budget-friendly font you could ever want at your fingertips. Finding (or designing) the perfect fonts is key to crafting a stellar user experience, so take advantage of these tools to power up your workflow.
Animation Libraries: Framer Motion, Lottie, Anime JS
Animation Libraries: Framer Motion, Lottie, Anime JS
To add motion and interactivity to your UI designs, animation libraries are essential resources. Here are three of the best free options:
Framer Motion is a production-ready library for scroll effects, drag gestures, and microinteractions. It has a simple, declarative API and works with React to let you choreograph motion in your components. You can create responsive, accessible animations and interactions on the web without becoming an animation expert.
Lottie is an open-source animation file format that renders animations natively on mobile and web. You can create animations in After Effects and render them with Lottie, and the animations will work on any device. Lottie has a large collection of free animations in their animation marketplace to get you started.
Anime.js is a lightweight JavaScript animation library with a simple, yet powerful API. It works with CSS styles, SVG, DOM attributes and JavaScript objects. You have full control over duration, easing and iteration of your animations. Anime.js also has a timeline feature to chain multiple animations together.
Some examples of how to use these libraries:
Framer Motion:
“`jsx
<motion.div
initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
animate={{ opacity: 1 }}
transition={{ duration: 1 }}
/>
“`
Lottie:
“`jsx
import animationData from ‘./data.json’;
“`
Anime.js:
“`jsx
anime({
targets: ‘.box’,
translateX: ‘5rem’,
rotate: ‘2turn’,
duration: 1500,
loop: true
});
“`
These libraries provide powerful yet simple ways to create engaging motion design for web interfaces. Start animating and make your UI come alive!
Staying Up to Date: Following Design Influencers and Publications
Staying up to date with trends in UI/UX design means following influential designers and publications. Here are a few of the top ones to keep an eye on:
Dribbble
Dribbble is a community of designers sharing screenshots of their latest web, mobile and product designs. Browse trending designs or follow top designers like Julie Zhuo, ex-Facebook designer, and Erik D. Kennedy of Learn UI Design. Their posts provide a peek into what leading designers are working on and the styles gaining popularity.
A List Apart
A List Apart is a publication for people who make websites. They explore the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a focus on web standards and best practices. Follow them to get insights from experts on accessibility, content strategy, design systems, and more.
Muzli
Muzli is a design inspiration site that curates the best UI/UX designs, illustrations and stock photos. They feature designs from Dribbble, Behance and top design agencies. Muzli is a great resource to discover trending styles, color palettes and layouts. You can browse by tags like minimal, mobile or ecommerce to find designs relevant to your project.
UX Planet
UX Planet is a Medium publication devoted to sharing articles on user experience design, research, information architecture and more. Top writers contribute posts on design process, research methods, accessibility and design theory. Following UX Planet will expose you to new ideas and ways of thinking about user experience design.
Designer News
Designer News is a community of designers, developers, and entrepreneurs sharing stories on design. Members post links to resources, tools, articles and more. Joining Designer News lets you connect with other designers, promote your work and stay up to date with the latest happenings in the design world.
Keeping a pulse on these influencers and publications will help you stay up to speed with trends in UI/UX design. Paying attention to what leading designers are working on and the topics getting attention will inspire your own projects and process. Staying current in the fast-changing field of design is key to producing innovative and impactful user experiences.
UIUX Design Resources FAQs: Answering Your Questions on the Best Free Design Tools
So you have some questions about the best free UIUX design tools? No worries, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and answers to help you on your design journey.
What are the benefits of using free UIUX design tools?
There are many benefits to utilizing free design tools:
- Cost savings. Free means saving money in your budget for other business expenses.
- Simplicity. Many free tools are simple to use with an easy learning curve.
- Quick setup. You can get started right away without a long onboarding or setup process.
- Large feature sets. Some free tools offer robust features that rival paid tools.
- Open source. The code behind free tools is often open source, meaning it’s transparent and community supported.
Are free design tools high quality?
Yes, many free UIUX tools are high quality. Some are open source projects created by designers for designers. While free tools may lack some advanced features of paid tools, they can still produce professional results. Many startups and Fortune 500 companies use free design tools.
###What are some of the best free UIUX design tools?
Some of the best free UIUX design tools include:
- Figma: Free design tool great for collaborative UI and UX design.
- Sketch: Popular design tool with a free trial and educational license.
- Framer: Tool for interactive design and prototyping. Free for personal and educational use.
- GIMP and Inkscape: Open source tools for photo editing, graphic design, and illustration.
- Balsamiq: Tool for rapid wireframing and prototyping. Free for personal use and non-commercial projects.
- Bootstrap Studio: Open source tool for designing and prototyping responsive websites. Free to download and use.
Is there free UIUX design software for students?
Yes, many design tools offer free licenses or discounted pricing for students. Some options include:
- Figma: Free for education.
- Sketch: 50% off for students.
- Adobe XD: Free to download and use. Creative Cloud discounted student pricing.
- Framer: Free for personal and educational use.
- Balsamiq: Free for students and educators.
Does this help answer some of your questions about free UIUX design tools? Let me know if you have any other questions!
Conclusion
So there you have it—15 awesome UIUX design resources. With resources for wireframing, prototyping, UI design, UX research, and more, you’ll be equipped with everything you need to take your workflow to the next level. No more excuses—now get out there and start building that portfolio, launching that side hustle, or revamping your company’s digital experiences. The future is waiting to be designed by you! What will you create?