Believe it or not, I'm asked the same question over and over: What tools do I use, and for what purposes? Which do I use for logos? What about videos? What services do I use? I don't mind sharing what I use, especially if it helps others explore new options in the apps and software they use daily. That's why I hope to share the tools I've been using recently, as well as provide updates with new posts in the future to be transparent about what works and what doesn't. There's no need to beat around the bush, so here's a list of a few new (and older) tools I've been using as of January 2025.

None of these lists are in any sort of importance hierarchy, as they all usually serve their own purpose in my workflow.

Know this, I don't use as many tools as you'd expect me to. What I use gets the job done, and usually all boils down to the skill of the user on the software itself. Using my exact tools will not make you a pro, you have to find, learn and use what's right for you.

Design

These tools are insanely important for how I'm able to do design for myself, and for others. This software is something I usually use almost daily, and if not, used for projects which require either detailed or simple graphics. Some are paid, and some are free, some are also a freemium (Freemium is something that is free, but further/bigger/longer usage is paid, or may have some features which are limited to paid users only).

Figma is the only one I'll say tops everything else here—it's quite literally helped me create majority of my most notable graphics. We're talking branding, UIs, and other graphics for myself and for others.

The Design section is pretty minimal. The tools I use help me in a way where I don't have to rely on other software to complete it. Most of my graphics are done on Figma, but some other Adobe tools help me achieve graphics on levels Figma can't.

I'll be honest, I don't use Photoshop or much of the Adobe suite at all—and If I wasn't using their software for free, I wouldn't be paying for it either. I would not recommend signing up to Photoshop, or any other software under the Adobe umbrella. I wish I was able to have a different opinion on this, but in reality, their miss-leading financial practices with subscriptions isn't ethical at all. Considering how far and transparent other companies have been with how subscriptions work, Adobe charging cancellation fees for software which can be instantly cancelled and cut from usage is borderline absurd, especially when most companies (and software) do not incur fees as such.

The main usage of photoshop usually falls in the field of graphics which use extensive effects and other hard-to-archive looks with Figma (although newer plugins on Figma are capable of adding the effects of which you can find in Photoshop). Unfortunately Photoshop is the best when it comes to applying graphics to mockups (unless it's custom made), which means keeping it around for as large PSD files I can find to slap the graphics onto to view some real world applications.

I genuinely wish Photoshop was not an industry average, and hope to see it fall out of its place at the top.

My opinion on Illustrator is far less critical than Photoshop. Even knowing I showed a lot of resentment to Photoshop, it's more or less the questionable business practices Adobe wishes to follow which I don't support.

My use of illustrator is extremely important when it comes down to creating graphics (such as logo's and other illustrations) which require extensive pen work and other hand-drawn elements. Illustrator on my Mac is capable of syncing with my iPad, allowing for me to create hand-drawn logo's and modified SVG graphics using an Apple Pencil compared to a mouse with dragging. Through this, i've been able to create characters, logos and other notable graphics which have required higher levels of details. Illustrator is also capable of producing image-traced graphics (SVGs/Vectors) which can be scaled to whatever size you wish, but usually have some draw backs of quality and usage. 

The selection of tools that Illustrator provides for graphics holds more importance within my life and process of graphic/branding/logo creation further than Photoshop, and is able to work in-hand with Figma files, as content can be copied from Illustrator directly into Figma.

Websites

Builder

Post Webflow days, I found myself unconsciously using Framer more often, to which I had decided to fully switch later on. Framer used to be a platform where you could create app prototypes, but had changed their design/prototyping model to a web-building based platform (but if need be, can be used for very very simple designs, but i'd highly advise against it).

Framers use case (personally) is for landing pages and websites which can include a heap of information or content, but doesn't require any serious form of functionality, such as accounts or other interactive experiences. Building on Framer is relatively easy, especially considering you can import Figma designs directly into Framer. No—I don't recommend this either, as sizing and breakpoints in framer are very specific, and require an understanding of how the sizing works in order to make sure that nothing breaks or looks weird when the screen size changes.

Framer brought the likes of julpav.com, adstack.xyz, nudlelabs.com, canescampaign.com, boostupbot.com (removed) with many more to come in the future, as well as landing me a recognised and verified Partner position and verified Framer Expert badge.

Tech Stack

Not every website can be created on Framer (as much as I want it to be), which is why I end up having to use specific tech to construct a website. This isn't for everyone, and is out of the scope for most people which is entirely understandable. Don't feel pressure to understand and apply this knowledge to your own projects, as this tech is used for full fledged web apps and other heavy functional sites. 

From the team over at Vercel, Next.js is an insane React Framework built for web applications. A few of my upcoming projects are based on Next.js, and considering how much of a beginner I've been, I've still been able to understand the ins-and-outs of building a Next.js React app. Next can work for a variety of people, from experts to absolute beginners, they even have templates and methods of hosting directly on Vercel if you're unaware of how to get a site up and running on your own server.

Next.js has some insane customer stories and examples, especially within their showcase, and is definitely a go-to in web development in recent years.

You can find Next.js here, or start a new project through

npx create-next-app

This definitely depends what you'd consider 'new', but Clerk is a newer platform which allows developers to setup authentication within their web apps easier than before. Like Next, Clerk has some pretty notable testimonials from people at notable startups (and creators). Older authentication was harder and/or a longer process to implement in websites, whereas Clerk hopes to make that experience easier to use.

I've been using Clerk in a project of mine for a bit, and hope to expand it to public usage once my web application is suitable for everyone. While Clerk is a freemium, its paid plan is insanely attractive. Clerk offers up to 10,000 monthly active users with a custom domain alongside the use of pre-built components all for free. Once that 10K threshold is hit, the prices grows to $0.02 perMAU. ($20 per 1K MAU)

Major creators and developers have been using Clerk for their web applications more recently, mostly due to the fact that Clerk makes the authentication process easier without having to deal with the backend stuff yourself. 

You can find Clerk here.

Like Clerk, i'm relatively new to Tailwind, but using it has been anything but confusing. Paired with my Next.js web app, Tailwind helps piece together the style of which different UI components look (and respond).

There's a bunch of features within Tailwind which make it easier to modify your components, how they're structured, how they respond to mouse events, how they re-size, how they respond to theme settings (light/dark mode) and a bunch more niche and useful use cases.

There's not much to dive deep into with Tailwind, mostly because it just works. It's an insanely good solution for web development these days, and is being crazy adopted into other developers workflows for their own projects—their showcase secton has some pretty notable names such as

• OpenAI / ChatGPT

• Shopify

• Loom

• Netflix

• Lemon Squeezy

• The Verge

• GitHub

• And a few more notable platforms

Tailwind is changing up the game for a lot of devs, so i'd 100% recommend it.

You can find Tailwind here.

Code

There isn't much depth into this one unfortunately, as it's pretty forward facing, but there's 2 main pieces of software I use when dealing with code. This can include external Roblox coding (yes, coding Luau outside of Studio) as well as Discord bots, web apps, APIs and more. 

Similar to software like Blender, Visual Studio Code provides a free way to edit code and modify project files in an accessible and understandable way. Video studio code is pretty popular in the developer world but other alternatives have been created for those who are wanting a more polished and/or clean experience. I've been using Visual Studio Code for a few years now and I've used it on a variety of different types of projects. 

Recently I started using Visual Studio Code to modify Roblox script files, especially If the project I'm working on is more than 1000 lines per script. VSC has an accessible plug-in marketplace which allows you to add specific add-ons to help with your workflow, as well as themes and other beneficial features. For the absolute most part, VSC is entirely free but can include paid add-ons set by the creator (for their service: e.g. Copilot)

There's a few other features which I don't use, such as SSH, source control and proper debugging, but can change overtime and can vary per person. When it comes to running terminal commands for my server as well as using SSH, I tend to use the next piece of software i'll mention.

Termius has become one of my software ride-or-dies over the past few years. The functionality and compatibility between devices, with saved history, commands and more, is so helpful when it comes to connecting to my VPS and doing server work.

I could ramble for awhile on white Termius is such a good piece of software, as ever since I switched I never looked back. Termius allows you to store a collection of all IP addresses that hold SSH authentication for you to access easily and almost instantly. Especially in situations where accessing a server may be important, the mobile version of Termius allows for quick snippet applications within a SSH connection as well as running custom commands through their own mobile terminal. 

One of my most favourite features would be the SFTP functionality. Termius combines both SSH AND SFTP, meaning I don't have to use any other software besides Termius when it comes to managing my servers.

Everything else

This section is less about the technicals of it, but is a list of services and/or apps (SAAS) I either daily OR highly recommend.

Mostly used product examples, and if so, custom mockups.

Setapp includes a variety of softwares I use almost on the daily, and the value is insanely worth it.

Have been using Notion calendar almost daily for scheduling everything important happening, working across multiple calendars under different accounts.

Similar to Notion calendar, Notion has been keeping all my past school work together and organised, and helped a lot when it came to centralising my content.

Have used Superlist with a few developer friends on projects, their UI and UX experience is absolutely top notch and offers some really good task management options. Very excited for Superlists future.

Those pretty cool videos I've made? All capable if not made in After Effects. Have been using After Effects for a few years now and appreciate the amount of detail and modifications you can do to an animation to perfect it. (Though still anti Adobe)

Not much to say here. I love Arc a LOT, and hope to see The Browser Company upkeep Arc. (Although have slowed down work on it for their new browser).

Basically notion on absolute Crack, can't wait to daily it at university.

Love using Insomnia to manage all my API endpoints, to test and figure out how my endpoints will behave (as well as testing authentication etc).

This is definitely an accurate representation of all the software I'll be using entering 2025, and hope to find some more to use along the way. There's still a lot of software under work which have been announced which I'm patiently waiting on, but before then, what I'm using now will definitely serve me well.