Tools
Digital Resources for Agencies & Creatives
Let’s face it: life in the Wild West of creative work can often be lonely and bewildering. Since its beginnings, Istoria has deeply valued collaboration and the camaraderie that comes with “talking shop” with fellow agency folks and freelancers.
In the spirit of sharing, our team has pulled together the resources we’ve found most helpful with the hope that they’ll help you, too. Consider this our curated top-picks list of the web apps, tools and sources of inspiration we simply couldn’t exist without.
Full disclosure, some of the apps listed have affiliate links… because we gotta eat somehow!
Admin
The backbone our books, HR, and payroll
(opens in a new tab)Bench
Accurate financials. Total peace of mind. Bench has been keeping our books since 2017 and we love their UX and customer service. Highly Recommend.
(opens in a new tab)Gusto
Hire, pay, and insure your employees with Gusto’s all-in-one people platform. Easily the most impactful tool when Istoria moved from solo-preneuer to agency.
Collaboration
Our sidekicks for managing projects, communicating internally, and dreaming up things
(opens in a new tab)Basecamp
Basecamp keeps us on task and up to speed. Basecamp frees us up. It’s for makers, not micromanagers. For shipping, not slipping. It’s all about making progress.
(opens in a new tab)Google Workspace
We use Gmail and Drive exhaustively. Sure, there's more you can get out of Google Workspace, but those two apps alone are worth the monthly membership fee.
(opens in a new tab)Figma
This powerful tool allows us to design things together in real-time. We use it to design mood boards, pitch decks, brand presentations, and so much more.
Content
What we use to create the work we love
(opens in a new tab)Adobe
Whatever you want to make, Creative Cloud has what it takes to make it amazing. We live in Photoshop, Premiere, Lightroom, and Illustrator. So much to love.
(opens in a new tab)Trint
Trint helps us tell stories faster by transcribing, translating, editing, and collaborating in a single workflow. If you're drowning in interview edits, this app can save the day.
(opens in a new tab)YouTube
YouTube, or as we jokingly refer to it, YouTube University, is an invaluable learning tool for all the other apps we have listed on this page. But you probably already know that.
Web Design
Build, host, optimize – digital essentials!
(opens in a new tab)ThemeCo
Say hello to the most advanced Wordpress builder. We build custom sites exclusively on Wordpress using ThemeCo's builder. It's powerful, scalable, and easy to use.
(opens in a new tab)WP Engine
The fastest and most trusted Wordpress / WooCommerce hosting platform in the biz. WP Enginge isn't the cheapest, but this isn't the area to pinch your pennies.
(opens in a new tab)Cloudflare
DNS glory. As the world’s first connectivity cloud, Cloudflare helps connect and protect millions of customers globally. Connect and secure your work.
Inspiration
Where we love getting lost in the World Wide Web
(opens in a new tab)Awwwards
Discover what's new and trending in digital design. The site of the day is always interesting. Awwwards is free to browse for inspo, but costs $ if you want your work displayed.
(opens in a new tab)Eye Candy
A visual technique library for all of you filmmakers out there. This site is wild and fascinating–prepare to have your mind titilated with shot and editing techniques.
(opens in a new tab)Colossal
Colossal is an online art magazine that celebrates contemporary art and visual culture across a wide range of creative disciplines. High quality journalism and art awaits.
Let's learn from each other.
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