02 Mar Apps for Efficiency
What in the world did we do before apps? Aside from entertaining us, there are many of these portable programs that can make work and life a bit easier to maneuver through. We have a set few that we use on a regular basis that have helped to organize and simplify everyday tasks, both for the design profession and for life. We’re up for trying any apps that can help us stay on track, and we doubt that we’re the only ones who feel this way! Here are a few that we highly recommend checking out:
1) Trello
Trello will organize everything. Seriously. We use this handy app for life and for work. You can create boards (which are the overall topics/projects that you need to get done), and within each board you add ‘cards’ (basically tasks) which can include checklists, attachments and due dates. You can also share your boards with other people by adding members, and assign certain tasks to those members, all within each board. It’s a super easy and effective app once you get the hang of it! Check it out here >> www.trello.com
[images from Trello]
2) MagicPlan by Sensopia
For those of us who are not CAD aficionados but who still need to space plan, MagicPlan is the way to go. This is a great app to have because it’s effective and very user-friendly. You can quickly create dimensioned floor plans, insert furniture and fixtures, all to scale, and all on your iPhone, iPad or tablet. Can it get much better? Apparently so: MagicPlan has a feature that allows you to aggregate a floor plan by just taking pictures of the room (WHAT?!) We haven’t tried this feature enough to say how well it works, but it’s awesome that it’s even an option.
[images from MagicPlan]
3) Morpholio Board
Combine all of your project finds (or just create a board for fun…) on this awesome app. Morpholio Board is basically a mood board app that lets you document products, ideas and notes for a particular project, collage pictures and create presentation boards once everything is done. You can add images from your own library, sketch on the different boards available within the app, and add text to your boards to help get your vision across. Try it out! http://www.morpholioapps.com/board/
[images from Morpholoio]
4) Color Snap
Grab a paint color from anywhere with this app by Sherwin Williams. Either take a photo within the app or import one that you’ve already taken, scale it to the part of the image you want to match your color to, hit done and VOILA, you have a Sherwin Williams paint color. It gives you options of colors that best match your photo, and if you’re not satisfied, you can delete these suggestions and add other colors to create a personalized palette. You can also explore colors by browsing through their color library within the app and save your favorite colors to your myS-W account to access to them from your different devices. http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/try-on-colors/colorsnap-mobile/
Benjamin Moore fan has a similar app called Color Capture – http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-capture
[images from Sherwin Williams]
One to Watch For:
Parlore
This app is still in beta and should be released soon, but with their tag line as “the business of interior design, streamlined”, we can only imagine that it will be amazing. With Parlore, you will be able to manage your design projects from start to finish, organize your products for each project, keep track of pricing, and track your orders, all in one easy to use program. You’ll also be able to work with other members of your team by inviting them into your project (similar to Trello) and communicate within the app itself. They’ll have an in-app marketplace that will allow you to purchase from a variety of vendors while keeping track of any updates they may have. Overall, it sounds awesome. We’ll keep you posted and let you know how it is once we get to try it out! >> http://parlore.com/
What apps do you use for efficiency? We would love to know!