About
A directory built by someone who can't stop looking for the tool that changes how designers work.
Every few years a tool comes along that quietly rearranges the whole profession. Sketch did it. Figma did it. AI is doing it right now, and tools like Paper, Magic Patterns, and Wonder are taking a run at the canvas itself. One of them, or a team nobody has heard of yet, will be the next one, and it probably still looks unimpressive. Finding those tools early, and passing them on to the designers who'd love them, is what TOOOLS.design has done since 2019. The same goes for the small ones: the icon set, the color tool, the little helper that saves you ten minutes a day and never makes a headline. If you're building the next one, send it in.
The result is 2,388 tools across 18 categories and 182 subcategories, each one opened and checked by me. Less than 4% of submissions make it in, which keeps the list short enough to be worth your time and long enough that there is always something new to find.
Over 2 million designers have used the directory over the past years, and it's free for every one of them. A good share of the best entries came in as a tip, so if you know a tool that belongs here, tell me about it.
Wall of love
What designers, makers, and the platforms they trust say about TOOOLS.design.
Egor KrasnoperovDesign Director, co-founder of Mockin“Honestly, I wasn't familiar with about 80% of what's listed there.”
Vitaly FriedmanFounder of Smashing Magazine“Useful knowledge hubs for UX designers, put together in one single place.”
TOOOLS.design listed · 3,369 reactions
UI Adrian@adriankuleszo“Every UX/UI designer should know these websites!”
TOOOLS.design listed · 1,172 likes
Adham DannawayAuthor of Practical UI“A growing archive of top design resources, tools, and inspiration.”
417 reactions
Ozan ÖztaskiranDesigner“A resource of all resources. Best find ever.”
Product HuntVerified brand“This free and growing archive of design resources is updated on a weekly basis.”
Twice on X, #8 in the Daily Digest, 375 upvotes
Guillaume RygnDesigner“I love this kind of site, you always find gems on it.”
103 likes · translated from French
AwwwardsVerified brand“Handy tools & apps for designers”
Featured in the series
UX Design WeeklyCurated by Kenny Chen“900+ design resources, weekly updated for the community.”
Lead item in issue 375 · 41k+ subscribers
Leon JackenMaker of deckd“Best directory out there. Great selection of tools and very appealing to the eye.”
Esteban Zamora VoornGraphic & motion designer“It is not a junk drawer. The content of every section is properly curated.”
Translated from Spanish
The Bumblebee Branding CompanyBranding agency“This website is a Dreamland for Designers.”
VelloDesigner“My go-to website for anything free.”
r/web_designReddit thread“A godsend.”
みどり@aoi310_design“A site that collects design tools from all over the world.”
Translated from Japanese
Mr.BaiCreator“You can download whatever you need, and on top of that there are TED talks and books from great designers to explore.”
Translated from Tamil
Nabhel@Nabhel_“Dear designer, here's a place where you can find all design resources and tools.”
392 likes · 400 bookmarks
Oliver SchöndorferType designer, Pimp my Type“Thanks for the good updates every week. They keep me feeling up to date, and when a project comes along, I always enjoy going back to TOOOLS.”
On the weekly newsletter · translated from German
Carmen AnsioDesign engineer“A FREE collection of more than 1,000 design resources.”
398 likes · translated from Spanish
Patricio ContrerasNewsletter maker“One of the most complete directories I have come across, with categories from illustrations and icons to typography, books and accessibility.”
Translated from Spanish
Martin@ui.martin“I love this site! I use it very often to find new things on the market.”
Stephanie WalterUX researcher, speaker & author“A place to find some design tools and resources”
In Pixels of the Week
Larry码力全开“Possibly the largest free design resource library out there, updated every single week.”
599 likes · translated from Chinese
Kirsten Alexis@Kirst85“Really nice curated site of design resources and tools.”
LION+MASONUX studio“A great design resource by Pascal Strasche, too good not to share!”
Ashiat AbdulkadirProduct designer“Practically a one-stop shop. It has been a real game-changer.”
Patrícia Rodrigues@blaucloud“Get inspired and create! Great toolbox to have around.”
Hayato IseProduct manager“A roundup site for international design tools. Really handy!”
Translated from Japanese
midudevDev educator, 1M+ audience“An incredible web resource for designers and developers.”
1,287 likes · translated from Spanish
Vasken MouradianProduct designer“Some awesome resources that Pascal Strasche put together!”
Felix@ux.by.felix“I regret not using THIS website as a junior designer.”
298 likes
Yogesh@yogesh_creatives“Basically a goldmine for creatives. Officially a permanent tab on my browser.”
822 likes
Anas Moaref@moaref_anas“A treasure for designers.”
251K views · translated from Arabic
Nathan LhommeCo-founder of SITIZI“Every designer should know this site.”
Translated from French
Miriam Isaac@misaac85“Just discovered this great resource for product design inspiration!”
Carina NovareseJournalist“This site is like a collection of good design tools: photos, icons, typography and more.”
Translated from Spanish
Madalena CostaUX/UI Designer“I recently discovered a game-changing resource for finding design inspiration websites.”
59 reactions · 20 comments
- RedditTop comment in r/InternetIsBeautiful
“This is a goldmine. Thanks for sharing.”
2,500 upvotes
Soft & AppsTech publication“A directory where you can find close to a thousand resources and tools for design.”
Translated from Spanish
Mir MurtazaBrand manager“I found this amazing website where you discover highly useful design resources and tools. Give it a go and save it to your browser tabs.”
Thanks everyone. There are many more of you than fit on this wall.
Questions
- Who runs TOOOLS.design?
One person: me, Pascal, from Germany, 16+ years in the industry. I studied graphic and interaction design, spent five years as a UI designer at an agency building some of Germany's most downloaded mobile apps, then designed product MVPs and marketing sites for startups. Today I split my time between freelance UI/UX, design engineering and Webflow work and my own products, TOOOLS.design and uicons.com.
The tool hunting started at the agency, where I brought Sketch and Zeplin into the team while most of the industry was still on Photoshop. That habit became productdesignresources.com, which later became TOOOLS.design.
- How does a tool get on the site?
- Most of them arrive through the weekly curation: every week I go through launches, social media, and reader submissions, the best of it goes into Tuesday's newsletter, and everything worth keeping goes into the directory, including the tools that didn't fit the newsletter. Every now and then I also run a bigger sweep and add a whole batch at once to fill the gaps in a category. Each tool gets opened, checked, and added to one of the categories.
- What does a tool need to get listed?
- It has to be design-related and genuinely useful to people who design for a living. In practice that means a working product behind the landing page, working professionals actually using it, and someone still developing it. Tools that shut down or stop being maintained get removed, and as the industry changes, so do the categories: new ones like AI Design Canvases get added, while others like Design Handoff go.
- Can I submit a tool?
- Yes, please suggest it here, and your own work is welcome too. Every submission gets a fair look. Less than 4% make it in, though. I don't reply to the ones that don't; there are simply too many for that. And it can take a while until a tool gets listed.
- Why isn't my favorite tool on here?
- Either I haven't come across it yet, or I looked and it didn't clear the bar at the time. Both can change: send it in and I'll take another look.
- How do I report a problem or suggest an improvement?
- Use the feedback form. Anything broken I'll fix: dead links, shut-down tools, stale descriptions, a tool filed in the wrong place. Ideas go on a list I actually work through, though not always quickly.
- Is it free to use?
- Yes, all of it: the directory, the blog, and the weekly newsletter, and you don't need an account. The affiliate and sponsor revenue keeps it that way.
- How does TOOOLS.design make money?
- Through affiliate links and sponsor placements. Neither one decides what gets listed. See the full affiliate disclosure for details.
- Can I advertise on TOOOLS.design?
- Yes. A homepage feature, a category placement, and a newsletter spotlight are the three formats currently available. Formats and prices are on the sponsor page. If you have something else in mind, just ask.
