As many of us have discovered recently, working from home brings with it an entirely new set of challenges. Not only can it be difficult to maintain focus, but many of us also have to rely on a different or reduced set of tools to finish our work. Here’s what we at Proponent use to keep ourselves organized and productive while we work remotely:
Slack
Like many companies, we rely on Slack to communicate with team members, brainstorm ideas and share files (and the occasional meme). It also allows us to stay on top of work that needs to be done for individual clients, as well as any internal initiatives that need addressing.
GSuite
Where Slack enables easy communication, GSuite allows for easy collaboration. Whether making comments on a Google Doc, editing a Google Sheet, or uploading different versions of creative to Google Drive, this suite of tools truly empowers us to work as a team and get things done quickly.
Figma
For creatives, Figma is a must. It’s a collaborative design app that allows you to design, prototype, and deliver UX/UI remotely. As with Google Docs, Figma enables teams to work together in real time, which ensures that everyone remains on the same page. It’s also easy to share files with clients, developers and other partners.
UberConference
For the times when you absolutely need to get on the phone with somebody, UberConference is perfect. It has the usual video conferencing features (screen share, call recording, etc) plus a few fun features, like the option to choose your hold music. In a crowded market, we consider UberConference to be one of the best around.
Asana
Asana is a project management tool that allows you to break projects down into tasks, and assign those tasks to team members. We find that itemizing work in this way allows us to keep longer and ongoing projects organized, and helps to keep individual team members accountable and aware of what needs to be done. Should you wish, you can also give clients access, thus allowing them to keep an eye on your progress.
Dashlane
Maybe you need to give a team member access to an account, but you don’t have a secure way of sharing the information with them. Enter Dashlane, a password manager that allows people within an organization to share passwords and login info with one another. You can decide whether to give someone full or limited rights, and revoke rights should that person leave your business. In addition to password sharing, Dashlane also notifies users of any compromised passwords, and offers a password generator and VPN services.
Fontbase
Fontbase is a cross-platform font management app that can be synced to a shared drive, ensuring our whole team has access to the same fonts. It’s free and easy to use – a must-have for every designer.
These are all the tools we use at Proponent to keep our business running smoothly and efficiently, pandemic or no pandemic. Try them out, and let us know what you think!