Archive for October 1st, 2008

First and foremost – you! You are the only tool that you really need to be creative. Creativity is there, inside all of us and all it takes is pulling it out and putting it to use. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other tools that can help! I have millions of little creative tidbits bouncing around inside my head, but even I need tools to help me put them into action. And, after spending all day in a creative whirlwind and putting together about 8 different color themes for a new social media site I am working on I decided to put together a list of the best free creative tools that I use on a daily basis, as well as a couple that I pay for, that are well worth it:

1. Kuler - (FREE) color themes for anything, free to browse and download

2. iStockphoto – free to look, a couple bucks per picture, and they have millions!

3. Adobe Creative Suite – full thing will run you about $1500, but it is well worth it. I am counting down the days, and saving my pennies, until CS4 is available…. *hint*hint* Adobe!

4. Twitter – (FREE) If I get stuck on a creative idea, or need some help, I know my network of people will always help

5. Flickr- (FREE) sometimes I need visual stimulation, and the photography on flickr is great. I am always amazed at what I can find

6. Mindjet- Do you remember those charts you made in elementary school? The ones that helped you to map a story line or an essay? Add a computer and Word to it and you have mindjet mind mapper. It is definitely a bit pricey ($350 per license) but if you do a lot of project planning, it is worth it.

7. Roboform- Remebers all your passwords so you can save your brain functions for the more creative endeavors. (ok, it isn’t a creative tool per-say, but at $40, it is impossible to pass up.)

8. Wordpress- (FREE) Blogging is one of the best ways to keep your writing sharp. Even if all you use it for is to bitch about life, try writing a few times a week and you will be amazed at how much easier writing in general becomes. Who knows, you may become the next Perez Hilton or Seth Godin!

*Just a side note, I am NOT an affiliate of any of these programs and don’t make anything on it if you choose to buy them, I just think they are worth looking into…

What am I missing? What are your favorite creative tools?