While looking at the tools designers use, it’s important to note that designers’ responsibilities shift and expand constantly. Only 6-7 years ago, few people even understood what a user experience designer did. These days it’s expected every designer to do at least some sort of user research, prototyping, and competitive analysis. These shifts affect how designers need to look at their workflow, domain knowledge, techniques, and tools. Clients today expect to see not only a polished final product but everything from wireframing to prototyping to a smoothly animating UI. Expanding your area of expertise is not just a way to make more money—it’s become a job requirement. New product design processes usually mean new tools, which means designers needing to spend time learning how to use them—which is why the emergence of new design tools has accelerated so much in the past few years.