10 Best Project Management Software for Designers

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Chances are you’re wondering what best project management software for designers you’d need to step up your design game. Does that sound like you?

Don’t panic, as we have you covered!

If you’re spending too much time on things of lesser importance, and not having enough time doing your core job of designing, then you need the best project management software to turn around the situation.

With the best project management software, you can plan your tasks; share your tasks and workloads among your team members without having a conflict of duties.

Project management software helps in effective communication with team members, clients, and collaborators as well as in invoice generation. 

However, the project management software market is so crowded that choosing the best ones is almost a tall order.

There are so many apps out there and you need to know what to look for when making a choice.

But the good news is most of the app’s producers are eager to lure you in with free trials to offer you the opportunity to try them out and then decide whether they’re worth investing in or not.

But are you willing to juggle various apps to know which one is suitable for your needs and purposes?

Or do you think you have to try out all the project management software on the market before making a pick?

I guess you aren’t ready for such a tough time. 

And so to help you out, in this article, we have compiled the list of the best project management software that you can choose for your graphic design work.

Why use Project Management Software for Designers?

Project management software may be used by designers for a variety of reasons.

It can aid in given project, teamwork, client collaboration, time tracking, file sharing, and the acquisition of insightful knowledge about their job.

Design professionals can increase their productivity, collaboration, and profitability by adopting project management software.

Designers can benefit from project management software.

Designers may determine their strengths and potential areas for improvement by analyzing statistics such as project schedules, job completion rates, and team productivity.

The outcomes of the project as a whole can be improved by using this information to make data-driven decisions.

Tip: monday.com provides a visual and collaborative way to manage projects; you can create boards for each project and add different columns such as task name, status, priority, deadline, etc.

What makes good Project Management Software for Designers?

Initially, the software should be built to facilitate creative workflows.

This implies that it should be able to handle many file formats, including large design files, and provide capabilities for version control and collaboration on these files.

In order to guarantee that all stakeholders are on the same page, it should also have functionality for tracking design modifications.

Many designers work remotely or on-the-go and require mobile access to project information.

Designers should be able to manage projects, collaborate, and monitor progress from any location with the help of a solid project management solution that has a mobile app that offers the same functionality as the desktop version.

Tip: monday.com allows you to share designs with your team and get feedback.

How to choose the right Project Management Software for Designers

To choose the right project management software for designers:

• Take into account the particular requirements of your design job
• Assess the software’s capabilities
• Verify the software’s compatibility with other tools
• Check for pricing
• Read reviews from other designers.

Prioritize the aspects that are most important to you and pick software that provides an excellent balance of functionality and cost.

Compatibility with your existing tools is also important for ensuring a smooth workflow.

Reading reviews from other designers can give significant insights into the benefits and downsides of each software and help you make an informed selection.

Designers can increase their workflow and efficiency by taking these things into account when selecting the right project management software.

Tip: monday.com integrates with several tools such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Sketch, Figma, and more, which allows you to bring all your design tools and tasks in one place and streamline your workflow.

Best Project Management Software for Designers

Here is our pick of the best project management software for designers:

1. Monday.com

Monday.com is an effective project management tool that helps you create one platform for better teamwork.

As a graphic designer, this tool will help you manage your work from one workplace with many other exciting features such as planning, tracking, and delivering your team’s best work seamlessly. 

Features of Monday.com

One of the great features this project management app offers is its highly visual interface and highly customizable scheduling.

These features make it very easy for project managers to set things up in a minute so that you and your team members can get started on your task fast and easily. 

Pricing

Monday.com starts from $24/month for 3 users and the pricing varies based on your chosen plan and team size. 

Pros

• Easily integrates with existing tools
• Easy to set up
• Allows managing your task from one workplace
• Highly visual interface and customizable scheduling

Cons

• No free plan

2. Bonsai

It is hard to manage a business as a designer because of various appointments with clients and partners. That is why you can make everything easy by getting Bonsai for project management. Assigning tasks will never take more than a few seconds once you have this software.

The platform lets you create tasks that you can check off from your list. You can also see the list by using custom filters such as active tasks, completed tasks, and all tasks. This will also help you overview a project’s progress and company goals that have been achieved.

Besides, the best thing is that you don’t have to spend much time creating to-do task lists. Bonsai offers pre-built templates to help you add tasks without wasting time. You can also set due dates for things to ensure your workers don’t cause any delays.

Features Of Bonsai

• Start time tracker for projects individually to calculate billing hours for each client separately
• Add goals or internal notes under a project list for tracking progress individually
• Invite collaborators to complete new tasks
• Leave comments for your colleagues about the project to ensure smooth completion

Pricing

Bonsai has three plans that can be charged once every year or once every month. Here is the pricing of annual packages:

• Starter plan – $17 per month
• Professional plan – $32 per month
• Business plan – $52 per month

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Customizable templates
• Fast set-up option
• Has a free trial

Cons:

• The time tracker requires more accuracy

3. ProofHub

ProofHub is an all-in-one project management tool for project and team collaboration.

As a versatile project planning tool, ProofHub offers a seamless user experience that keeps all your team members and clients in the loop of the design project-oriented information and focuses on the necessary tasks with little to no learning curve.

Features of ProofHub

Of all the features ProofHub offers the Kanban boards of ProofHub are really exciting in that it gives a clear understanding of design tasks and allocation of tasks in workflow stages of your choice.

It’s inbuilt proofing tool is also another exciting feature in that it helps in reviewing your designs and documents using markup and annotation tools in ProofHub.

This feature, in particular, is a center of attraction for many graphic designers.

Also, ProofHub timesheets are another great feature for tracking time spent on design tasks, billing your design project, and measuring the productivity of your design teams.

Pricing

ProofHub offers a 14-day free trial to decide whether or not it’s the right software for you.

The Ultimate Control plan starts from $89/month billed annually with unlimited projects, users, and 100GB storage. 

Pros

• No per-user fee
• Jam-packed with lots of exciting features for designers

Cons

• It doesn’t allow customizing your account.

4. Jira Project

Jira, a tool designed by Atlassian, initially started as a software development tool but is now being used as a tool for project management, issue management, and bug tracking.

The tool is highly effective for product development coordination, desk management, project tracking, and lots more, depending on your purpose.

The good thing about Jira Project is that it can be configured and customized to suit your needs. 

Amazing Features of Jira Project

Although Jira was originally designed for software developers there are ways graphic designers can also use it for project management.

One of the features that suit the need of a graphic designer is the customizable workflows.

This helps designers in creating a workflow that works for their design team.

Other ways graphic designers can use Jira for project management include tracking their work status on the go with Jira mobile, defining relevant types of work, inviting their team and stakeholders, etc.

Pricing

The pricing for Jira starts from $10 for 10 users per month. For details about their pricing and plans check out their link here.

Pros

• Allows for customization to suit your needs
• Offers a wide range of project viewing options
• Great for bug tracking
• Free trial option

Cons

• Steep learning curve

5. nTask

nTask is a free task management platform that you can for anything from managing projects to making checklists, from creating tasks to scheduling meetings, and from collaborating with project teams to sharing files, to mention just but a few.

If you’re looking for online project management software for your next design projects, this is your best shot.

nTask Amazing Features

nTask offers some great features for project management such as task management, time tracking, timesheets, Kanban boards, team management, etc.

With the time management feature, you can easily keep track of the time you need to spend on a project and how long it will take to complete the project.

This ensures you don’t miss the deadline set for the work.

Pricing

nTask offers different pricing and plans for their users.

You can get started with their Free Forever which is their basic plan.

For the paid options, there are plans for premium, business, and enterprise, depending on your needs and team size.

The Premium goes for $2.99/month per user and it’s ideal for SMEs and startups.

The Business plan costs $7.99 per month per user and it’s suitable for larger corporates.

And lastly, there is the Enterprise plan which is available on demand.

To get a quotation for the Enterprise plan, you need to contact nTask here for a custom quote.

Pros

• User-friendly tool
• Eye-catching interface
• Free version with advanced features
• Very affordable pricing and plan.

Cons

• Not compatible with Windows or Mac app
• No advanced customization options

6. Kanbanize

Kanbanize is an exciting tool that designers can use for agile project management.

It offers designers the opportunity to create their own projects and break down jobs into related deliverables in Kanbanize with a few clicks.

Amazing Features of Kanbanize

Kanbanize forecasting tools help in making efficient planning for your project and eliminate guesswork.

This forecasting tool uses statistical workflow analysis to determine how long it will take your team to complete a project.

Another good feature Kanbanize offers is that it helps in optimizing your project delivery across different teams. 

Pricing

Kanbanize offers a free trial version for 30 calendar days, with no card required.

There is also a month-by-month plan and an annual plan.

The former goes for $179/month, billed monthly, while the latter costs $149/month and it’s billed annually. 

Pros

• Excellent timeline planner
• A great and revolutionary forecasting tool

Cons

• No iOS app

7. Trello

Trello, as a list-making app, is web-based Kanban-style project management software originally created by Fog Creek Software in 2011.

As a Kanban-style management tool, it means it follows a Kanban project management approach and you can easily customize it to suit your own purposes and needs using its “drag and drop” workflow management tool. 

Additionally, Trello helps you in managing projects, collaborate, and improve your productivity level.

Amazing Features of Trello

These days, everyone needs a tool they can easily integrate into their existing tools and that is one of the great features Trello offers you.

Trello integration is comparable to ones like Dropbox, InVision, and Figma, to mention but a few. 

Apart from Trello’s powerful integration feature, it’s a central location for keeping your notes, feedback, files, and versions.

Trello also works great for managing requests and communicating with your team as to who is working on certain tasks.

Pricing

Trello offers a free version, which is entirely free to use.

With the free version, you get some perks like unlimited cards, unlimited members, up to 10 boards, 1 Power-Up per board, unlimited storage (10MB/file, and more.

The paid version comes in two plans which are business class and enterprise.

The business plan starts from $10 per user per month billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly).

This plan is ideal for a team of up to 100 members who need to track multiple projects and view their projects in a variety of ways.

For the enterprise plan, the price is based on custom orders and to get a quote,  contact Trello sales team here.

The perks here include everything in business class plus:

• Organization wide boards
• Public board management
• Multi-board guests
• Attachment permissions
• Power-Up administration
• Unlimited automated command runs, etc.

Pros

• Easy to learn and use.
• Great interface
  Excellent collaboration tool
• Compatible with Mac, iOS, Android, and browsers.

Cons

• Need more advanced features

8. Asana

Asana is another project management software that is great for tracking teamwork.

It helps you to track your task progress and keeps you abreast of what each member of your team is expected to do and when to do it.

With Asana, you can easily organize your project and team members through tasks, conversations, and dashboards.

You can also keep a tab on your work on the go using Asana mobile apps, which are available on both Android and iOS.

Amazing Features of Asana

Asana offers great collaboration and conversation features, which makes it easy for you to have all your files stored in one central location using the files app.

Also, Asana offers powerful third-party integrations which make it easy for you to use it along with your existing tools and manage your projects effectively.  

Pricing

Asana offers a free version for teams of up to 15 people but the premium plans start from $10.99/month per user when billed annually and $13.49/month per user when billed monthly.

Pros

• Intuitive user interface
• Great collaboration tool
• Free version for a small team
• Strong third-party integration

Cons

• Difficult to adapt
• No time tracking feature

9. Dropbox

Dropbox is an excellent project management software that offers a modern way of storing, sharing, and tracking your work.

It bridges the gap between your files and cloud content thereby making it easy for you to share your files with your team at the tip of your fingers.

In fact, Dropbox is more than just a secure file storage app; it’s an exciting workspace where teams, tools, and content are brought together.

Amazing Features of Dropbox

With Dropbox cloud storage you can keep your files safe in the cloud and share files and folders without any hassle.

Other amazing features of Dropbox include productivity and content collaboration.

By this, Dropbox is an effective tool for increasing productivity in your workplace and it’s helpful for editing, collaborating, and sharing creatives for review with your teammates with just a few clicks.

Pricing

The basic plan for Dropbox is free but the premium plan (Plus) starts from $9.99/month for individuals and the professional plan goes for $16.99/month. 

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Excellent customer service

Cons

• Expensive for businesses on a shoestring budget

10. Wrike

Wrike is a project management tool with great features for creating design team workflow and reporting tools.

By simply filling out a request form stakeholders can send their design proposals.

Apart from this, Wrike helps designers to keep track of their projects and ensures they don’t run out of resources to complete their tasks within the timeline set for them.  

Amazing Features of Wrike

One of the exciting features of this project management software is its excellent reporting tools which make integrating with other third-party apps such as Google Apps, Dropbox, Microsoft Excel, etc. very easy.

There are other wonderful features such as the email feature that allows you to convert your emails into tasks thereby improving your email productivity. 

Pricing

Wrike pricing options come with a free and premium version.

You can try out the premium version for 14 days after when you’re expected to pay $8.90/month/user for the professional plans if you decide it’s worth the investment.   

Pros

• Excellent reporting and proofing tolls
• Highly customizable
• Excellent request form feature that makes it easy for stakeholders to send their project requests.

Cons

• Limited mobile apps
• Costly as there are add-on prices

Summing Up – Best Project Management Software for Designers

So there you have our pick of the 10 best project management software for designers and the question is: which one is right for you?

We’re confident you can’t go wrong if you take the plunge now as you have the basic overview of what best project management software there is for your design projects.

So go ahead and make that informed buying decision.