• Mobile App Design
• News

5 of the Best Free Android Apps for Graphic Designers

Inspiration can strike at any time, and often it’s just plain helpful to be able to get an idea down somewhere while out and about. For some of you, this means with an Android phone or tablet. And while you may have happily invested a small fortune in high-powered computers and big ol’ screens for your graphic design studio or workstation, you may still be reluctant to shell-out extra for mobile design apps. But things don’t have to be this way. There is now an ever increasing range of free design apps for Android that will compliment your stationary work environment, on the move.

Adobe Photoshop Express

This Carphone Warehouse Appy award winning software puts photo enhancement in your hands – literally. It has all the familiar features: filters, cropping, rotating, color adjustment, effects, borders etc. There’s everything you need for a speedy fix or simple enrichment. The app even lets you store up to 2GB of photos and videos on the Photoshop website, saving memory on your Android tablet.

Magic Color Picker

No more carrying around pantone swatches with this basic but effective color selection tool. The app has seven different modes and displays color values in RGB, YUV, HSV, and HSL. Use either sliders or a palette to explore the spectrum and be inspired.

Autodesk SketchBook Express

It may not have all the bells and whistles of its Pro counterpart, but this free version of Autodesk’s SketchBook series is still a mean piece of artistic software. SketchBook Express converts your android tablet into a drawing pad for free-styling and doodling. It is a must for graphic designers prone to attacks of inspiration when away from the office. There’s even a cool symmetrical function that automatically reflects your drawing either horizontally or vertically.

Camera Illusion

This happy gadget uses the camera in your Android device to process photos in real time. It has a range effects, filters, and masks. For graphic designers Camera Illusion means creating truly unique images, for everyone else, it’s just really, really, really fun.

Flickroid

Because, quite frankly, what’s the point of your work if you don’t get to show it off? Flickroid quickly and easily enables you to post to Flickr, thus sharing your creative brilliance with the world whenever you feel so inspired.

About the author:
Louise Miller graduated from UCL in 2010 with a MA in engineering. When she is not busy designing apps for android, she enjoys blogging about digital media and the latest news in technology.