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What project management software do creative teams use?
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As a graphic designer working with developers and other creatives, I find that most project management software is built for more traditional business workflows. We need something flexible that can handle visual projects, feedback loops, and creative collaboration.
What project management software have you found works well for creative teams? Bonus points if it integrates with design tools and has good team collaboration apps features.
For creative teams, we've found Notion to be incredibly flexible. You can build custom databases for projects, client feedback, asset management, and more. The project management software aspects are what you make of them.
The ability to create different views (board, calendar, list, gallery) means designers can work in a visual gallery view while developers might prefer a list view. This flexibility is crucial for creative teams with different working styles.
Integration with design tools like Figma through embeds has been a game-changer for our workflow.
We use Asana with custom fields for creative teams. The project management software allows us to track not just tasks but also creative assets, approval stages, and client feedback in one place.
The portfolio view is particularly helpful for creative directors who need to see the status of multiple projects at once. The timeline view helps with resource planning across projects.
What's been important for our creative team is minimizing administrative overhead. The project management software should make work visible, not create more work.
For our creative agency, we use ClickUp because it handles both the creative and business sides well. The project management software includes time tracking, budgeting, and client portal features alongside task management.
The custom statuses are crucial for creative workflows. We have statuses like Brief Received," "Concept Development," "Client Review," "Revisions," and "Final Approval" that match our actual process.
Integration with creative tools is still a weak point for most project management software, but ClickUp's embedding feature helps bridge that gap.
For student creative projects, we often use Trello with custom power-ups. The project management software aspect is lightweight enough not to get in the way of actual creative work.
We use the calendar power-up for deadlines and the card aging feature to see what's been stagnant. For team collaboration apps integration, we connect it to Slack for notifications.
The key for creative teams is that the project management software should support the creative process, not dictate it. Too much structure can kill creativity.
In my testing, Monday.com offers excellent visual project management software for creative teams. The color-coding, timeline views, and workload management features help creative directors manage resources effectively.
For smaller creative teams or freelancers, Notion provides the most flexibility to build a system that matches their specific creative process without paying for features they don't need.
The challenge with project management software for creative teams is balancing structure with flexibility. The best tools provide enough structure to keep projects on track without stifling the creative process.
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