As any creative person will tell you, some tools in your workflow become indispensable; this is no less true in the digital realm, where apps and websites prove their worth time and time again across multiple projects. Some of our previous favourites are no longer with us, and finding replacements can be difficult.
Our Top Creative Business Apps
Below is a rundown of our (current) top creative business apps we don't want to lose, in no particular order. Let us know in the comments which ones you also love and which we missed!
ColorSlurp
ColorSlurp is a fiendish little app for your Mac and iOS device that lets you access the colours on your screen and all around you.
Once installed on your Mac's menu bar, the Pick Colour function turns your pointer into a colour identifier, letting you scan the interface and see the unique HEX code for every colour it touches. Once clicked, the app slurps up the colour, allowing you to make any necessary adjustments via the dashboard.
Matching the client's chosen colours is essential when working alongside brand guidelines. The app also allows you to save Palettes of colours together so that you can keep track of multiple colour schemes at once. To make creating more accessible designs easier, there's also a tool for checking the contrast between colours.
With the iOS version, ColorSlurp turns your device's camera into a colour picker. Point the lens at anything, and it will capture the colour you choose and present complimentary colour palettes automatically.
Visit Colorslurp
Later
We all know that running your social media is a real labour of love or hate! Once you've figured out and made the content you want to present to the world, you've got to share it and even remember to do so.
Later is a social media management platform designed to remove all that stress. It's more than just a scheduler to release your content; it also has tools to help you create it and analyse its performance on your channels. If you struggle to find the right words for your posts, new AI-enhanced features can suggest new hashtags and even write captions.
Seeing your schedule laid out clearly and then dragging on dropping your posts across the calendar couldn't be easier. Each of your social accounts is easily distinguished, so you can stagger publishing at different times.
Available on desktop and mobile - Visit Later.com
Motion Array
Even the most professional creator needs help and assistance now and then. Whether brushing up on new skills, learning about the latest software or utilising stock libraries, Motion Array has everything and more.
Curated with filmmakers in mind, the vast selection of royalty-free music, video templates, motion graphics plugins, photos and sound effects will provide solutions and inspiration for any creative project.
Not only does membership grant access to this wealth of visual content, experts also write blogs and tutorials to help you along the way. They cover quick tips and tricks to full-scale creative endeavours you might not have known possible.
If you use Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro X by Apple, and even DaVinci Resolve, articles and downloads await you across Motion Array's vast reserves.
Visit Motion Array
Adobe Podcast AI
This online tool by Adobe is in the beta testing stage at the time of writing. Available to use for free online, this audio enhancement solution is an editor's dream come true. If you ever have to work with sound recorded under question circumstances, you will soon have a new best friend.
Sometimes, the microphones used to capture sound could be more professional. Other times, the location for recording could be better. Environmental factors like the size of the space, exposure to the elements, ambient interference like air-conditioning, or simply background noises can all negatively affect the listening experience.
By uploading a sample of your questionable audio to Adobe Podcast AI, you will quickly discover if it's worth submitting the longer piece for enhancement. Having been processed by machine learning algorithms and general wizbottery, the results are often startling, if not exactly perfect.
You'll need an existing Adobe account or a new free one to access the tool; file size is currently limited. It's only a matter of time before Adobe is done with free public beta testing, and the Podcast Enhancement magic will be hidden behind a paywall or integrated with their burgeoning application suite. So use it while you can!
Visit Adobe Podcast AI
Kaptioned
When producing videos for social media, a key component is having subtitles. It is essential for improved accessibility, but also so people can watch with the sound off, so audiences now expect subtitles.
LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram have auto-generated caption functions, which are fine if you want to manage that process natively on each platform. However, you can use the Captioned app if you'd rather have the subtitles embedded in the raw file.
Record the video on your smart device, and once opened in Kaptioned, the app will analyse the content and create a timed transcription. It's easy to playback your footage and adjust the captions' wording, spelling and timing.
Once you're happy with the results, you can use a free watermarked version of your video or pay for one-off or subscription-based access to unbranded exports. The final video with burnt-on subtitles is then saved to your camera roll, ready for broader distribution.
Visit Kaptioned
That's our list of essential gadgets and gizmos in our daily creative endeavours. Which ones have you also used, and which others should we be checking out?