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Essential AI Tools
The AI tools actually worth paying for right now.
Midjourney
Midjourney is an AI image generation tool using text prompts to create original artwork. Used for concept exploration,…
Paid →Recraft
AI generator built for designers, producing true vector output, icon sets, and brand-consistent styles.
Freemium →Runway
AI video generation and editing suite covering text-to-video, video-to-video, and advanced masking.
Freemium →Cursor
An AI-first code editor built on VS Code that can read your whole codebase and write multi-file changes…
Freemium →v0
Vercel's prompt-to-UI tool that generates React and Tailwind components you can paste straight into a project.
Freemium →Claude
An AI assistant strong at long-form reasoning, writing, code, and working through design problems conversationally.
Freemium →Handpicked Partner Discounts
Services we personally use and recommend — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Fiverr
Hire freelance designers, illustrators and 3D artists for one-off jobs.
Browse Fiverr →Hostinger
Fast, affordable web hosting — the plan this very directory runs on.
Get hosting →UXCel
Learn UX design through bite-sized lessons, challenges and real-world projects.
Start learning →Referral links: if you sign up through one of these, thedesigntools.site may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only link services we actually use ourselves.
Featured Design Tools
Our current favourites, hand-picked by the team.
CSS Gradient Generator
Visual builder for linear, radial and conic CSS gradients with multiple stops and copy-ready output. Built and hosted…
Free →Colour Contrast Checker
WCAG AA and AAA contrast checker with live ratios, pass/fail badges for normal and large text, and suggested…
Free →Colour Palette Generator
Browser-based palette generator with seven harmony rules, WCAG contrast checks and colour-blindness simulation. Built and hosted by us.
Free →Blender
A free, open-source 3D suite that has evolved into a professional-grade tool at zero cost. Remarkably capable for…
Free →Webflow
Webflow lets designers own the entire web creation process — design, build, and host without developer handoff.
Paid →Notion
Notion's versatility makes it invaluable for managing projects, inspiration, and team knowledge. The free tier is generous for…
Freemium →Top Partner Picks
Tools we genuinely recommend. If you sign up through our links we may earn a commission — at no extra cost to you.
New tools, worth knowing about
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Latest Jobs
Design, product and creative roles, refreshed automatically.
Staff Product Designer
Fieldguide
Remote · USA →Head of Design
Orbital
London →Brand & Creative Design Lead
tem
United Kingdom →Brand Designer, AI + Ops
Gladia
Paris →Product Designer (w/m/d) eCommerce
Holzland Becker
Offenbach am Main, Hessen, Deutschland →Brand Creative Director
Mistral.ai
Paris →