Every project seems to encounter unique barriers. You think that you’re on the right path until something goes amiss. At that point, you have to waste time retracing your team’s steps to uncover and solve the issue.

Getting better tools for your design team can help them work more efficiently and creatively. Before you spend a lot of money on unnecessary features, though, explore your options to find the best tools for the job.

The Right Design System Can Simplify Your Team’s Process

Whether your team collaborates on website or application designs, individuals need to work together toward a common goal. Creating a design system makes it easier to reach that goal because every member of your team knows what patterns, colors, typography, icons, and other features to use.

Unfortunately, some tools encourage managers and project leaders to add too many assets to their design systems. By simplifying design systems with the right tool, you get a more efficient way for teammates to collaborate without getting confused. You will never have to go back to replace unauthorized assets used by a designer who didn’t understand the project’s aesthetic.

Open Collaboration Helps Your Team Develop Innovative Ideas

Even the most talented designers can get stuck rehashing similar techniques. When you receive praise for a specific type of design, it makes sense for you to include that feature in your next project. The more recognition you get, the more necessary the technique becomes to your creative process.

Open collaboration helps tear down the mental blocks that hold so many designers back. When your team works together on a project, individuals can participate in:

  • Brainstorming that leads to new, surprisingly creative concepts.

  • Building value that drives the team to do better work.

  • Giving everyone opportunities to contribute ideas without judgment.

  • Encouraging teammates to find innovative solutions to problems.

Collaborating can also encourage experienced designers to rethink their approaches, look at the bigger picture, and reflect on how they might grow as professionals.

Ideally, you want a tool that will let everyone contribute. A collaborative environment where team members can share ideas is terrific. It can also help to get feedback from fresh eyes outside of your group. Look for tools that let you share concepts with people who don’t have memberships.

Project Management Tools Keep Team Members on Schedule

Projects can get out of control when you don’t have a reliable project management tool that holds everyone responsible. Your project management tool should:

  • Let the project leader establish and track milestones.

  • Receive notifications when someone finishes a task.

  • Let managers establish deadlines that team members must meet before moving to the project’s next stage.

  • Include documentation so other team members can see what tasks went into each step of the design process.

  • Have a messaging feature that lets members communicate with each other publicly and privately as necessary.

Great Tools Can Help Your Agency Save Money

Spending money on the right tool could actually help your agency save a lot of money. Obviously, you can save money by adopting tools that help your employees and freelancers work more quickly. Great tools go beyond controlling project hours, though. You may also find that you can save money with apps and services that:

  • Manage customer relationships.

  • Manage digital assets.

  • Process payments.

  • Improve data and network security.

  • Scale your data needs to meet current demand.

When you spend money upfront on excellent tools, you often avoid additional costs that subpar companies hide in their agreements. For example, you might discover that your cloud storage provider charges an astronomical fee for you to use a little extra storage space for a month.

Better Tools Mean Faster Turnarounds and Happier Clients

Giving your design team better tools means that they can work more efficiently. Efficiency matters to design agencies of all sizes. If you work for a small business that designs boutique products, then you need quick turnarounds so you can earn more revenues by completing projects faster.

Larger design agencies also need to think about turnaround time. Clients want to know that they can rely on your team to meet deadlines. If you really want to impress a client and get them to ask for more work, deliver your projects early.

When your team has excellent tools, it can finish projects quickly without cutting corners that lead to mistakes. Over time, you will attract more projects from clients who believe in you to do excellent work.

Your Team Members Deserve Room to Improve and Grow

From a business perspective, you have to consider how tools improve experiences for your clients while boosting revenues. Don’t forget that your team members deserve better tools that will help them improve their skills and grow creatively.

Outdated design applications often lack the features that today’s designers want to explore. Your software should include tools that let creative thinkers explore UI animations, responsive and adaptive designs, and modal windows.

Explore your options and talk to your team. It won’t take long before you find better tools that help your design team do its best work.