What are the best project management tools for designers?

Question

Me and my team are exploring options to move our design project management workflow to a clean slate, what are some of the tools that you use to stay on top of design projects and make sure the workflow is smooth & fluid.

We are looking into using Trello, but if anyone has a more visual and more feature packed alternative we are open to suggestion.

Roman Annenkov · Accepted Answer

I vote for Planyway, in combination with Trello. Our team designer productivity has grown by 15-20%, according to weekly reports for similar tasks. In spite of Planyway is just a Chrome Extension, for now, it seems to become a real breakthrough in project management.

Iryna Maniuk · Answer

My team loves Atlaz. It's kind of Jira + Trello combo: feature-rich yet simple to learn and use.  Whatever you're looking for - project/team/task management, time and progress tracking, reporting - Atlaz has pretty much that all.

Natali Rodriguez · Answer

If you are looking for a tool to store version and track the process you should try InVision. They have a feature Trello like where you can see the version and progress of the project. Personally I don't use that feature cause I track design versions in a different way. I guess you'll have to try it out and see if it works for your team.

Tools Ive used, Basecamp, Trello, Asana,  InVision, JIRA.

Answer

I am surprised this hasn't been recommended yet!
It's got everything a designer could ask for when it comes to project management -Task boards, Privacy settings, in-situ conversation, custom backgrounds, colours, google drive and dropbox add-ons, et al.

Thomson Muriyadan · Answer

If your tech team already uses JIRA then it makes a lot of sense for the design team to be here too. It may not the most best looking tool out there but if you work directly with the product and the developer teams and they're already on it then it does a pretty good job of keeping everybody on the same page. Agile development concepts like Epics and stories help link efforts of all teams and makes it easier for projects to be managed. Teams can have their own workflows set-up within their projects will ensures nobody skips a step. And many more benefits.

Roman Annenkov · Answer

Trello is a decent tool but what really makes it powerful is Planyway Chrome Extension which allows you to use a real google-style calendar. Check it yourself at planyway.com

Milena Seba · Answer

An interesting tool for designers who freelance is Fanurio. It can do project management, time tracking and invoicing.

Although Fanurio can't help with the actual design work, it can help designers to get paid for their time and work. Designers can create custom invoice templates using HTML, CSS and their favourite fonts.

Sam Rye · Answer

Worth a look for sharing all the files and process with clients...

Sarah Kennedy · Answer

It's a great and visual project mgt tool that lives in Gmail ... that where I work!

Sam Rye · Answer

Depending on the size of your studio, you might want to take a look at Favro too, as it's got an extra layer of managerial oversight built in.

David Adamu · Answer

I find Paper great as a tool for collaboration - you can add comments on specific parts of designs and have a tight feedback loop between team members.

Ashley Marron · Answer

If you are looking to plan your design project and then co-ordinate tasks on a kanban board then Barvas is worth checking out. Used by a lot of marketing teams to co-ordinate campaigns and associated designs

Sam Rye · Answer

More feature rich than Trello, and more views too. Worth a look!

Julie Tolosa · Answer

A fun and engaging app Creatives would enjoy using.

Sam Rye · Answer

Take a look at Abstract if you're interested in a kind of 'Github for Designers' proposition...

Version control, communications and integrations all inside.

Judith Ratajczak · Answer

Do you already know TimeTac? It's a webbased time tracking and project management tool for Mac/PC or mobile. Define your tasks/projects. With a simple click you start tracking time. You see how much time you have spent on specific projects and you are able to plan your resources. What is also important is that you always keep an eye on cost and revenue rates. Currently you can test it for 30 Days!

Sam Rye · Answer

I've just started kicking the tires of Plutio but they have impressive features already of you're keen to get everything under one hood.

If you're freelancing or running a small studio, I'd suggest having a look.

Supri Supriyama · Answer

Provides great tools for project management. It can help marketers and bloggers a lot!

Henry Stark · Answer

Dooster is pretty great for any project management. You can assign projects to anyone, have people watching the project who aren't actively involved, you can link and pages, images or sites to each project, tag them and make them searchable, have commentary conversations etc. Definitely worth a try.

John Ababseh · Answer

I love Trello, but basecamp is worthy of checking out as it helps with all tasks and is the go to spot for documents, meetings, checklist, projects, emails, calendar syncs, chatting, and more.

Ramon · Answer

Editor's choice by PCMag

Arnold Sanders · Answer

I was looking for some color grouping for certain tasks and projects. Also searched for level of priority from low to high and found Hitask that is doing this job. This was good for our design agency because grouping by colors, projects, and people is what we're looking for.

Alexandra Cote · Answer

Designed for small and medium teams, you might find it useful if you're looking to improve your productivity through time tracking, Kanban boards, and much more.

Answer

Bitrix24 is excellent if you are looking for a free project management solution that comes with time tracking, billing, quotes and client management. See https://www.bitrix24.com/features/tasks.php

Leonardo · Answer

Jira and Trello are IMO the best alternatives out there. While JIRA is more sw engineers oriented (lots of dev integrations) I think you can find quite a good amount of workflows and boards also for designers/mktg/sales people. Recommended it.

(till 10 ppl, JIRA should actually cost less than Trello).

Filipa Nascimento · Answer

Outplanr turns your to do lists into a work plan. It’s a team work planner which helps you balance your and your team work-life, by delegate and tracking everyone tasks in real-time and planning your work for all week.

Nandini Sharma · Answer

ProofHub is a web-based project management and collaboration software to plan, organize and deliver work faster. ProofHub is a highly beneficial tool that brings all the useful project management tools along with a native proofing tool. The proofing tool makes life easy for designers as it cuts the tedious task of reviewing and approval of designs easier than ever. Plus, there is an in built timer in the app as well, which you can use to track time spent on design works and bill the clients in the easiest possible manner.

Lucas Schmidt · Answer

Don't let time tracking issues ruin your creativity. Create great designs and stay organized! TMetric is an ideal app which solves many time management demands of freelance designers, design teams and agencies, interior designers and any creative person who works with client projects remotely or onsite.

Daniel Lobo · Answer

I think you should give winio a try. Your documents, tasks, and conversations on a single screen