10 must-have Windows Phone apps for creatives
Einstein once said, “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.”
These days, thanks to apps, it’s not only easier than ever to unleash your creativity, but to pass it on too. Happily, the Windows Phone store is jam packed with creativity enhancing gems. To show just how packed, we’ve unearthed ten of the best, for everyone from graphic designers to writers, photographers to filmmakers. So get your Lumias at the ready and scroll on down.
What is it: A video editing app
Why we love it: It packs tons of cool features to help you create your own movies. Effects like slow motion and fisheye, transitions such as fade and slide, and tools like frame grab and trim all make it simple and fun to create professional-looking movies. After you’ve finished your creation, you can upload to a variety of places like Facebook in order to share your work with the world. Well worth the 99 cents!
Who’s it perfect for: Mobile filmmakers
What is it: A photo editing app
Most of you Lumia photographers are likely familiar with all of the photo editing apps in the Store, but you should check out Fotor if you haven’t already. It boasts a nice collection of useful functions such as basic editing tools, collage, and 1-tap enhance. The intuitive design makes Fotor quick and easy to use, so that you can perfect your shots in no time at all!
Who’s it perfect for: Pro and novice photographers
What is it: A smartphone camera enhancing app
Why we love it: ProShot is a must-have for anyone that wants to take professional photos with their phone, putting DLSR functions right at your fingertips without the need to lug around a heavy camera. There are way too many adjustment and display features to list here, but rest assured it’s well worth the $1.99 price tag. Install ProShot and get to snapping!
Who’s it perfect for: Anyone who wants DSLR functions
What is it: An art/editing app
Why we love it: Create colorful and fun works of art on your phone with this photo/painting app. Fantasia Painter features 32 different types of brushes, such as fur and rainbow, so that you can paint your photos using your fingers. It’s also got more than 100 effects, like colorize and mold, for even more fun!
Who’s it perfect for: Visual creatives
What is it: A color organizing app
See a cool color while you’re out and about and want to save it? This app lets you recognize, tag, compare, and organize colors. Although it was originally intended for people with various types of color blindness, it’s an extremely useful app for designers, artists, and anyone that wants to keep track of certain colors that catch their eye. All you have to do is snap a pic!
Who’s it perfect for: Graphic designers, fashion designers, Art Directors
What is it: A mobile thesaurus
Why we love it: A thesaurus in your pocket is a good for tool for anyone, but writers and editors might find it particularly useful. My Pocket Thesaurus does just what its name suggests, letting you quickly look up synonyms whenever you find yourself at a loss for words. And it’s free!
Who’s it perfect for: Journalists, authors, copywriters, bloggers
What is it: A brainstorming app
Why we love it: FtsMind is a great tool for brainstorming, helping you to formulate and visualize your ideas. This app lets you create mind maps, which you can transfer to your PC and edit with Freemind. Perfect for creative people that want to get those fantastic ideas saved quickly!
Who’s it perfect for: Everyone who comes up with creative concepts
What is it: An instrument tuner
Why we love it: The perfect app for musicians, Accurate Tuner Free has both a needle tuner and stroboscope chromatic instrument tuner, for fast and fine tuning. It has settings for 126 specific instruments plus an “any instrument” setting, and adjustable sensitivity for tuning in not-so-quiet environments, making it an indispensable tool for gigs.
Who’s it perfect for: Rock stars and other musicians
What is it: CAD app
Why we love it: This popular CAD & graphic application is a must-have for anyone that needs a digital sketchpad, such as architects, graphic designers, and illustrators. The app features CAD creation and modification, room planning, and illustration for posters, fliers, and many others. Projects can be saved or imported to OneDrive.
Who’s it perfect for: Architects, graphic designers and illustrators.
What is it: A toolbox app
Why we love it: Carpenter’s Friend is a great find for anyone that enjoys a bit of DIY, amateur or professional. This digitized toolbox features a protractor, spirit level, surface level and plumb bob, as well as unit conversion. The realistic graphics make it a pleasure to use, and its accuracy will help your next project turn out beautifully.
Who’s it perfect for: DIY fans
Ten awesome apps guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing! Of course, we couldn’t include them all, so be sure to let us know in the comments which apps you love the most any you think deserve a mention.
Image credit: Jeff Daly