The 10 Best iOS Apps for Designers on iPhone & iPad
Your iPad is powerful. It’s a sleek pane of glass capable of incredible creative feats. It’s most likely a digital graveyard for forgotten apps and wasted subscription fees.
We’re all guilty of it. You see a hyped-up new app, pay the £9.99, use it twice, and then it sits in a forgotten folder while you default to the tools you know.
Most “best apps” lists don't help. They're exhaustive catalogues designed to earn affiliate commissions, not to provide clarity. They encourage digital hoarding.
This list is different. This is about curation over collection. It's about building a lean, powerful mobile toolkit that complements your desktop workflow, not one that tries (and fails) to replace it.
We’re focusing on the apps that provide genuine value and are worth your time and money.
- Focus on curated apps offering genuine value for designers' mobile toolkits.
- Procreate and Affinity Designer 2 are essential for most design workflows.
- Specialist apps like Figma enhance collaboration without replacing core tools.
- The iPad complements, rather than replaces, traditional desktop design software.
The Heavy Hitters: Core Creative Suites
These are the primary, all-in-one design applications where you'll spend most of your creative time. If you’re only going to pay for two or three apps, they should come from this list.
1. Procreate: The Undisputed King of Digital Illustration
- Category: Raster Graphics & Digital Painting
- Best For: Sketching, illustration, and anyone who values a fluid, intuitive interface.
- Platform: iPad only. Requires Apple Pencil for best results.
- Pricing: A one-time purchase of around £12.99. No subscription.
- Personal Take: Let’s be clear: Procreate is the main reason a designer owns an iPad. It is a masterclass in software design. The interface is minimal and gets out of your way, letting you draw. The brush engine is phenomenal, and the performance is flawless. It's the one app that feels like it was born on the iPad, for the iPad. Stop looking for a “Procreate for desktop”—that misses the entire point of what makes it brilliant.
2. Affinity Designer 2: The Subscription-Free Powerhouse
- Category: Vector & Raster Hybrid
- Best For: Professional vector work without committing to the Adobe subscription.
- Platform: iPad only.
- Pricing: A one-time purchase of around £17.99.
- Personal Take: This is the most complete, desktop-class design application available on the iPad. It’s a genuine powerhouse that combines vector and raster toolsets in one app. If you’re allergic to monthly fees and the Adobe ecosystem, this is your answer, full stop. The learning curve is steeper than Procreate’s, but the power you get for a one-time fee is unmatched. It’s a serious tool for serious work.
3. Adobe Illustrator: The Industry Standard, Untethered
- Category: Vector Graphics
- Best For: Designers already embedded in the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem.
- Platform: iPad only.
- Pricing: An Adobe Creative Cloud subscription (starting around £19.97/month for the Illustrator-only plan) is included.
- Personal Take: People first complain that Illustrator for iPad isn't the full desktop version. That's not a bug; it's a feature. Adobe streamlined the interface for touch and the Apple Pencil, focusing on the tools you’ll use on the go. Its single most significant strength is the seamless cloud sync. Start a logo on your iPad at a coffee shop, and it’s waiting for you on your iMac back at the office, ready for finishing touches. If you live in Creative Cloud, it’s essential. If you don’t, get Affinity Designer.
The Specialists: Apps That Do One Thing Brilliantly
Your core apps are your workshop. These specialist apps are the precision tools you bring in for specific, crucial tasks.
4. Figma: For Collaborative UI/UX & Prototyping
- Category: UI/UX Design & Collaboration
- Best For: Wireframing, prototyping, and team-based design review.
- Platform: iPad & iPhone (Viewing/commenting is great on both; editing is best on iPad).
- Pricing: A robust free tier, with paid plans for larger teams.
- Personal Take: Figma is no longer just an app; it’s the default language for modern interface design. While you'll still perform the most complex work on a desktop, the iPad app is a game-changer for client presentations. You can walk a client through a prototype, get their feedback, and make minor edits live in the meeting. That kind of immediate, collaborative workflow is incredibly powerful.
5. Adobe Fresco: The Painter's Choice
- Category: Digital Painting (Raster & Vector)
- Best For: Artists who want realistic paint blending and the flexibility of vector brushes.
- Platform: iPad & iPhone.
- Pricing: Freemium model, with full features unlocked via a Creative Cloud subscription.
- Personal Take: The inevitable question is, “Fresco or Procreate?” Here’s the simple answer. Procreate is the better all-around tool for illustration and design. Fresco is for people who genuinely love the process of painting. Its Live Brushes, which simulate the fluid dynamics of watercolour and oil, are pure magic. They are something Procreate can’t replicate. It’s a more specialised tool, but for digital painters, it’s a compelling one.
6. Canva: The Small Business Shortcut
- Category: Template-Based Design
- Best For: Entrepreneurs and non-designers needing quick social media graphics, presentations, or simple marketing materials.
- Platform: iPad & iPhone.
- Pricing: A capable free tier, with a “Pro” subscription for more features.
- Personal Take: Right, let’s be honest. Most professional designers view Canva with a certain level of disdain. But it absolutely has its place. For a small business owner who needs to create an Instagram story graphic in five minutes, it is faster and cheaper than hiring a designer. The slick mobile app makes it easy to work on simple tasks. Just don't use it to design your brand identity. An authentic brand needs a proper foundation, and that’s what graphic design services are for.
The Essential Utilities: Your Creative Support Crew
These apps aren't where you'll create the final product, but they are crucial to the creative process. They feed your main workflow with ideas, assets, and accuracy.
7. Concepts: The Infinite Sketchbook
- Category: Vector Sketching & Ideation
- Best For: Mind-mapping, initial architectural sketches, and infinite canvas brainstorming.
- Platform: iPad & iPhone.
- Pricing: Freemium model, with a one-time purchase to unlock pro tools.
- Personal Take: This is where messy ideas are born. Unlike the fixed canvas of most apps, Concepts gives you an infinite drawing board. It’s perfect for the non-linear thinking that happens at the start of a project. You can sketch out a user flow, jot down notes, and drop in images on one sprawling page. It’s less about creating finished art and more about visualising the entire thought process.
8. Adobe Capture: The Real World-to-Digital Bridge
- Category: Asset Creation Utility
- Best For: Creating vector shapes, colour palettes, and patterns using your device's camera.
- Platform: iPad & iPhone.
- Pricing: Free to use with a free Adobe account.
- Personal Take: This is easily one of Adobe's most underrated and brilliant mobile apps. It turns your phone into a design input device. See a fascinating texture on a piece of bark? Capture it as a pattern. Love the colour scheme of a sunset? Point your camera at it and instantly generate a five-colour palette. You can even take a photo of a rough sketch and have Capture instantly trace it into clean vector lines. It’s an essential tool for pulling inspiration from the world around you.
9. Pantone Studio: For Colour-Perfect Branding
- Category: Colour Utility
- Best For: Building, managing, and sharing brand-accurate colour palettes.
- Platform: iPad & iPhone.
- Pricing: Subscription-based.
- Personal Take: It’s a subscription for looking at colours, which is ridiculous. But if you do any professional branding or print work, colour accuracy isn't a suggestion; it's a requirement. This app is the definitive, official Pantone Matching System (PMS) source. It allows you to build palettes, see colour data (CMYK, RGB, Hex), and ensure what you see on screen is what the client gets in print. For serious brand work, it’s non-negotiable.
10. GoodNotes 6: The Digital Notepad, Perfected
- Category: Note-taking & Document Markup
- Best For: Taking client notes, marking PDFs, and initial brainstorming sketches.
- Platform: iPad & iPhone.
- Pricing: A one-time purchase or subscription model is available.
- Personal Take: The design process doesn’t start in Illustrator; it begins with a conversation. An app like GoodNotes (or its excellent rival, Notability) is for capturing that conversation. Pulling up a PDF of a design proof in a client meeting, making annotations with your Apple Pencil, and then immediately emailing it back to them is a power move. It’s for sketching a rough wireframe while the client describes it. It professionalises and organises the messy front end of the creative process.
How to Build Your Mobile Design Toolkit (Without Going Broke)
The goal is curation, not collection. You don't need all ten of these apps. Start with one or two and master them. Here are a few sample toolkits based on your needs:
- The Illustrator's Kit: Procreate (for sketching and painting) + Concepts (for brainstorming) + Adobe Capture (for inspiration).
- The Brand & UI Designer's Kit: Affinity Designer 2 or Illustrator (for vector work) + Figma (for UI and presentations) + GoodNotes (for client meetings).
- The Entrepreneur's Kit: Canva (for quick social graphics) + Adobe Capture (for creating simple brand assets) + GoodNotes (for organising ideas).
Resist the urge to subscribe to everything. Pick your core app, learn its limitations, and add another tool when you hit a wall it genuinely can't solve.
So, can an iPad Really Replace Your Mac?
Let’s end this debate. For 95% of professional designers, the answer is a firm no.
And that’s okay.
An iPad isn’t a lesser Mac; it’s a different tool. It is an incredible extension of your professional workflow. It is unbeatable for digital sketching, a fantastic device for client presentations, and a convenient tool for making edits when you're away from the office.
The real power is unlocked when you create a seamless flow between your devices. The modern creative workflow is to sketch an idea in Procreate on the train, refine it in Illustrator on your Mac, and then present it to the client with Figma on your iPad.
The iPad is vital to that puzzle, not the whole picture.
The best iOS apps for designers aren't a magic bullet. It’s the one that feels so intuitive, gets out of your way, and lets you focus on the actual work: solving problems and creating compelling visuals.
Stop the endless hunt for the next perfect app. Pick your tools, learn them deeply, and get back to designing.
The right tools are a great help, but are no substitute for the right strategy and a strong creative idea. If your brand needs more than a quick template, it might be time for a professional touch. You can request a quote to see what a dedicated, strategic approach to design looks like for your business.
Best iOS Apps for Designers (FAQs)
What is the best free design app for iPad?
For general-purpose design, Canva has the most robust free tier. Adobe Fresco and Adobe Capture are excellent free options for serious drawing and asset creation.
Can I do professional logo design on an iPad?
Yes. Using vector apps like Affinity Designer 2 or Adobe Illustrator, you can create professional, scalable logos entirely on an iPad. The key is ensuring you are working in a vector format, not a raster like Procreate.
Procreate vs. Adobe Fresco: which is better?
Procreate is the better illustration app with a more straightforward interface and a one-time purchase price. Adobe Fresco is superior for artists who want hyper-realistic paint blending (Live Brushes) and the flexibility of vector brushes within a painting app.
Is Affinity Designer a suitable replacement for Adobe Illustrator?
For many users, yes. Affinity Designer 2 is a powerful, professional-grade vector app that can replace Illustrator, especially for those who dislike Adobe's subscription model. The main reason to stick with Illustrator is its seamless integration with the rest of the Adobe Creative Cloud.
Do I need an Apple Pencil to use these design apps?
While you can use your finger, an Apple Pencil is essential for any serious drawing, painting, or vector work on the iPad. It provides the precision and pressure sensitivity needed for professional results.
What's the best app for UI design on an iPad?
Figma is the industry standard for UI/UX design. Its iPad app is excellent for presenting prototypes, collaborating with teams, and making minor edits.
Can I use my desktop fonts on iPad design apps?
Yes, most professional design apps on iOS, including those from Adobe and Affinity, allow you to install and use custom fonts. You typically need an app like iFont or use the font management features within Creative Cloud to install them on your iPad.
What's the best way to present a design portfolio on an iPad?
A simple, high-quality PDF opened in the Books or GoodNotes app is reliable. For web and UI designers, presenting a live prototype directly in the Figma app is the most effective approach.
Is the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription worth it for iPad users?
It is worth it if you also use Adobe apps on your desktop. The value comes from the cloud storage and seamless file syncing between your iPad and your computer. If you only plan to design on your iPad, a non-subscription app like Affinity Designer 2 or Procreate offers better value.
Can Canva be used for professional design work?
Canva is excellent for creating quick, template-based marketing materials, especially for social media. However, it is unsuitable for building complex, bespoke brand identities or logos requiring unique vector assets.
How much storage do I need on my iPad for design work?
A minimum of 128GB is recommended. Design files, especially high-resolution raster files from Procreate, can be large. If you plan to store many projects locally, 256GB or more is a safer bet.
What is the difference between raster and vector graphics?
Raster graphics are made of pixels and lose quality when scaled up (e.g., photos, digital paintings). Vector graphics are made of mathematical paths and can be scaled to any size without losing quality (e.g., logos, icons).
