Welcome to “Five Things Monday.” As a graphic designer I thrive on inspiration, I try to look for it and find it everywhere. Sometimes you just need a little pick me up when you’re starting or stuck on a project. Some people need an extra cup of coffee on Mondays, I need a little extra jolt of inspiration (and lets be honest, that extra cup of coffee as well).
I love my iPad and iPhone, how could I not? Of course, I have a slew of apps that I use on a daily basis, so I thought I would take some time to show you 5 of my favorite apps. Click on any of the images to enlarge them.
1. Bamboo Paper is a great app for drawing. The background provides a nice grid, there is a variety of colors to choose from and you can even email and print your drawings or notes. I only have the free version but if you use it a ton I can imagine that the full version would be super useful. If you plan on doing a lot of drawing or writing with you iPad I would suggest buying a stylus, there are lots of good ones out there. Click here to download Bamboo Paper.
2. Flipboard is probably my proudest find. It’s really well done and is a great one stop shop for all my news. It integrates your Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Linkedin, Tumblr etc, etc. as well as allows you to follow all sorts of other collections like CNN, FFFFound and other more general topics like “Crafts” and “Technology” It really is a great app. The layout is fantastic and you actually “flip” the pages. Click here to download Flipboard, it’s FREE!
3. Padmapper is an app that one of my colleagues directed to me and it has been a lifesaver in the current apartment search I’m on! It pulls data from all sorts of listings, such as craigslist, and maps them out for you. You can zoom in and out and redo your search area as much as you would like. It also allows you to fill out different filters, such as price, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. The pins change color as you view and favorite them. Once you select a pin a pop up window shows with basic information and pictures and then allows you to visit the original listing as well. It’s quite fantastic for pinpointing a certain area and not having to dig through all those crazy Craigslist links. Click here to download Padmapper, it’s FREE!
4. Show of Hands is a fun and fascinating app. When you first open it, it will have you submit some basic data about yourself. Then you can proceed to answer all sorts of questions, and see the results! Results are split up by state and you can select different states to see how the results change. You can also filter the data by political party, age and income. Some of the questions are funny and some a serious, it’s always interesting to try and guess what the outcome will be and then see the real outcome. Click here to download Show of Hands, it’s FREE.
5. Teuxdeux is a fantastic to-do application. Created by none other than swissmiss herself, it’s wonderfully simplistic and user friendly. You just add your to-dos to the appropriate day and then cross them off when you’re done. My favorite part is that anything that doesn’t get completed one day automatically moves to the next day. There is also a “Someday” section for those things you want to get done but aren’t time sensitive. TeuxDeux is originally a website which is a big plus for me. I love being able to look at my to-do list whether I’m in front of my phone, iPad or computer. While they do not have an iPad app currently, you can, of course, use the iPhone version on your iPad. To learn more about TeuxDeux and to sign up – GO HERE, to download the app – CLICK HERE. The app is $2.99 but you won’t regret it one bit.
What inspires you when you have a case of the Mondays?
Happy creating,
Jennifer
