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Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
31–40 of 218 posts
Re: Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
#32Graphviz for simple diagrams that can represented with basic shapes.
PlantUML for sequence diagrams, state machines and the likes.
Powerpoint/Keynote for things that are presentations - and usually I will export one of the above formats as SVG, clean it up a bit, turn into PDF and drop into the slides. As a general rule all my diagrams must be vector based, and no bitmap objects should be embedded.
Confluence with Graphviz and PlantUML plugins for placing diagrams into documentation. This also gives more granular version control. Other diagrams may also end up in source control with the product itself.
Occasionally I have ASCII art embedded in source code, nearly all of this is hand cranked as I've yet to find tools that work for me. Almost always this is formatted to show up in generated documentation.
But most importantly is having consistent design elements - spend time having colour palettes that are consistent, typefaces and type positioning that match, that shapes and layouts are as consistent as possible. Having templates, colour palettes, and snippets help. Finally, understand basic colour theory, typography and layout. Looking at graphic design visual porn (Behance is a good starting point) after knowing the basic rules will hopefully give meaningful inspiration.
Re: Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
#33A large collection of tools. The trick seems to be to find apps that're good at particular jobs, then compose the components drawn from those apps together into a scene. 1. PowerPoint for composition. Unless whatever graphic you're making is simple enough to be produced by just 1 program, it's good to have a canvas-like program that you can assemble the components in. For me, that's usually PowerPoint, since it can b…
The ray-tracing idea really sounds great! What setup are you using for this?
Re: Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
#34OmniGraffle works well for me. (MacOS)
I second this. Very good tool for diagramming. All kinds of stencils / shapes / objects: Wireframes, UML, workflows, BPML,...
Edit: And of course you can draw free hand. It's vector based.
Re: Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
#35I use Simple Diagrams https://www.simplediagrams.com/ , specifically because it has a hand drawn feel, which I think makes people feel less intimidated and also conveys the impression that what is shown is not cast in stone.
Really nice, unfortunately no support for Linux.
Re: Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
#36I use Simple Diagrams https://www.simplediagrams.com/ , specifically because it has a hand drawn feel, which I think makes people feel less intimidated and also conveys the impression that what is shown is not cast in stone.
Looks nice, is it possible to use external vectors?
Re: Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
#37I use Simple Diagrams https://www.simplediagrams.com/ , specifically because it has a hand drawn feel, which I think makes people feel less intimidated and also conveys the impression that what is shown is not cast in stone.
Wow, this is beautiful. Will definitely give it a try.
Re: Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
#38Gliffy: https://www.gliffy.com/
$7.99 per month for a single user or $4.99 per user per month for small teams.
It was one of the first browser-based diagram tools but it's kept up with the competition. Gliffy provides a wide variety of diagram types, design and theming options.
Re: Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
#39I use Simple Diagrams https://www.simplediagrams.com/ , specifically because it has a hand drawn feel, which I think makes people feel less intimidated and also conveys the impression that what is shown is not cast in stone.
In one of the videos a guy tells something from a tool, where you can simply sketch with pen/paper and then make a picture and it's converted to a vector graphic? How cool is that :-)
Re: Ask HN: Which tool do you use to create beautiful diagrams?
#40I use Dia, it's simple and does the job.