Many UX tools have come and gone. Many others have evolved and continue to build on that. Every UX researcher and designer has their favorite tools. The new generation of tools support remote collaboration, designing in the browser, ability to access designs anywhere any time across any platform, built-in asset libraries and more. UX Design is a practice where tools and frameworks shape your ideas into reality. Having said that, asking the right question is important. Asking ‘what UX tool should you use’ will box you into particular set of tools. Instead, ‘what design activity you need to perform’ is a better question.
At the end of the day, you should not be confined to only the tools. Improving your problem solving ability using design thinking should be the primary focus. Tools are only an enabler to your design sensibility. This is a message I share with my students in the courses I teach. Read more about how do you solve the most pressing problems for your customers.
I discuss four aspects in this article –
- What are some of the free to use UX tools
- What are the some of the paid UX tools
- How to learn UX tools
- How to choose the right UX tools
I’ll be updating this article whenever I come across new UX tools that I think will help you in becoming a better researcher and designer. Do subscribe to my blog to get automatic updates.
What are some of the free to use tools for UX design
Many free to use tools are available for most stages of the design thinking process. These tools are good for students and beginner level UX professionals. Get hands-on with the tool, experiment with it, learn from the experimentation – an easy way to choose the right tool.
| Activity | Tools |
| Brainstorming | Google Documents |
| User Flows | Wireflow, Draw.io |
| UI Design | frame box, iPhone mockup |
| Prototyping | Origami Studio, InVision |
| Design Handoff | Figma (free plan), InVision (free plan) |
| Design Systems | InVision DSM (free plan) |
| User Testing | Zoom |
| Versioning | GitHub |
Read more about ideation including brainstorming.
Read more about how rapid prototyping helps save time, cost, effort.
What are some of the paid tools for UX design
Many paid tools are available for every stage of the design thinking process. Most paid tools let you try them out for free. The trials are time and feature limited. Here’s a wonderful compilation of tools that the industry has used in 2020. This is a must read for anyone interested in learning more about the tools of the trade.
The rise of remote work has pushed the adoption of tools like Miro for brainstorming, Figma for user flows, Maze and Lookback for user testing. Miro has seen massive growth in 2020 (560%, 5% to 33% adoption by survey respondents). Figma is popular because it supports designing in the browser and enables collaboration. The table below summarizes the results of 2020 Design Tools Survey done by uxtools.co.
| Activity | Most Rated Primary | Most Rated Secondary |
| Brainstorming | Whimsical | Miro |
| User Flows | Whimsical | Overflow.io |
| UI Design | Figma | Affinity Designer |
| Prototyping | Webflow | ProtoPie |
| Handoff | Zeplin | Figma |
| Design Systems | Figma | zeroheight |
| User Testing | Maze | Lookback |
| Versioning | GitHub | Bitbucket |
If you are looking for a minimal set of tools for your design process, consider the following. Figma is rated 4 or higher across most design activities.
| Activity | Tool |
| Brainstorming | Figma |
| User Flows | Figma |
| UI Design | Figma |
| Prototyping | Figma |
| Design Handoff | Figma |
| Design Systems | Figma |
| User Testing | Maze |
| Versioning | GitHub |
As you know, I do not earn anything from these recommendations, nor do I have affiliation with these companies. I’ve tried to be as objective as feasible.
How to learn UX tools
Learning, thinking, and writing should not be about accumulating knowledge, but about becoming a different person —Sönke Ahrens
The right learning network brings the right knowledge when you need it. Steve Jobs cultivated a learning network that was a major contributor to his massive success. By plugging into the right learning network, you harness the knowledge of other accelerated learners. Strategy evolves as lessons are learned. A good strategy might be executing a suboptimal plan at a fast pace. Move faster to learn faster. Learning is a marathon and perfection is a weighted vest.
There are 3 ways to learn any tool –
- Learn from free tutorials provided by the toolmakers
- Learn by using the tool
- Learn from external resources and courses
Generally, learning from free tutorials and practicing by using the tools would suffice. Sometimes learning from external courses and resources may help, especially when working with advanced tools. For example, you may learn from video tutorials on YouTube.
Learn by using the tool
Design each part of your learning around practicing. Practicing by using the tools is important. Practicing with intent sticks! Make practicing with intent a primary value. First, think about what you’re doing. Then, think about how to do it. Practicing with intent ensures you’re using the tool in a realistic setting. Build solutions that work for your users. Read more about how to measure quality of user experience and goals of product.
Image Credit: cartoonstock
What has most value
It is essential to have good tools, but it is also essential that the tools be used in the right way – Wallace D Wattles
Choosing the right UX tools is an important decision. If you choose the wrong one, the impact you make through your design work will suffer. Because you have to show your design deliverables to stakeholders regularly. I find 6 key criteria that matter when choosing the right UX tool.
| Criteria | Description |
| Usefulness | Does the tool solve your problem ? How good is the solution ? |
| Learning curve | Is the learning curve steep ? |
| Ease of use | Is the tool easy-to-use on a day-to-day basis ? |
| Ease of collaboration | Does the tool make it easy to share your work with others ? |
| Ease of integration | Does the tool integrate easily with other tools that you use or planning to use ? Does it make the handoff between design phases easy ? |
| Cost | How expensive is the license ? |
If a tool exceeds expectations in all 6 criteria – congratulations, never let it go!
I’ll be updating this article whenever I come across new UX tools that I think will help you in becoming a better researcher and designer. Do subscribe to my blog to get automatic updates.
What are your favorite tools that you have been using ?
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