LittleSnapper Case Study

What do you use LittleSnapper for?

I'm always on the hunt for design inspiration, even when I don't realize it. Sometimes I need examples of how other people are doing things, and other times I just stumble upon a brilliant or creative way to solve a design problem. Learning from the mistakes or accomplishments of others is key in being a good designer.

The problem arises when I need to keep track of these design nuggets. For a while it was all stored in a folder on my desktop, and then moved around from computer to computer until multiple folders existed (and some disappeared). iPhoto seemed to be a decent tool to save everything, but the process of getting screenshots to it wasn't all that straightforward and it was meant for, well... photos.

LittleSnapper solves all of this by giving me a simple, unobtrusive method for capturing, storing, and labeling my bits of inspiration in a way that makes sense. Not only does it make taking screenshots easier, but finding them months later is a breeze. Because you never know when you'll need a little inspiration.

What is your favourite feature?

“

I find that the Browser View with quick snapping of a page or specific element is fantastic.

I find that LittleSnapper's menubar shortcuts are highly useful in order to capture the website I'm checking out in my browser or to send that website to LittleSnapper's Browser View to get just a piece of the design (using LittleSnapper's DOM snapping feature). This allows me to capture whatever it is I need without having to open another piece of software to get it, and without interrupting my browsing session.

That said, the ability to publish to Flickr (and Ember) is a huge plus for me, especially when I'm sending screenshots to my Web Design Inspiration set on Flickr. Because what good is finding inspiration if you can't share it with others?

Which features have been the most useful?

While tagging and rating screenshots are highly useful for finding things later, I find that the Browser View with quick snapping of a page or specific element which I can then resize before saving to my library is fantastic. It eliminates the need to crop or resize screenshots in another application, thus saving me time.

How has your workflow improved?

And speaking of saving time, LittleSnapper gives me the ability to capture what I like and then gets out of my way. The main window shows up when you're working with your collections and then disappears, leaving you the menubar, when it's time to get back to work. There's a lot to be said for an application that does what it's meant to do but doesn't linger when it's not needed.

Where LittleSnapper really shines for me is when it comes to minimizing the amount of work required to add to my Web Design Inspiration set on Flickr. Where I once needed an application to grab a screenshot, another to send it to Flickr, and yet another to keep track of it on my desktop, I now do all of that with one incredibly simple piece of software. It can also automatically add my screenshot to the appropriate Flickr Set and Flickr Group, saving me even more time.

Anything else you'd like to add?

It's important to be useful, but being pretty never hurt anyone either. And that LittleSnapper sure is nice to look at.