5 best Mac apps for creatives in 2025
Nov 17, 2025
5 best Mac apps for creatives in 2025
Creatives live in fast timelines. You sketch, shoot, edit, and ship. The right apps keep you moving, and the right search layer helps you find the exact asset or page without digging. Here are five Mac apps that earn a spot on a modern creative machine, plus how to pair them with private, precise search.
Download Fenn for Mac. Private on device. Find the moment, not the file.
1) Adobe Photoshop
Still the workhorse for compositing, retouching, and quick social exports. Layer styles, masks, and smart objects make it flexible for both photo and design tasks.
Tips
Keep exports predictable, JPG and PNG for fast sharing, PDF when you need a reviewable proof.
Name important layers or artboards so teammates know what to open.
Pair with Fenn
Point Fenn at your PSD export folders, brand assets, and reference boards. Search in natural language to surface images with specific copy or visual ideas. Fenn understands text baked into images and can match visual intent with Semantic mode.
2) Adobe Illustrator
Vector graphics for logos, icons, and brand systems. Multiple artboards let you keep variations together.
Tips
Use asset export for clean SVGs and PDFs.
Store references and copy decks alongside .ai files.
Pair with Fenn
Index packaged projects, exported PDFs or SVGs, and the nearby copy decks. Ask for the artboard or export that matches a phrase or concept, then open the surfaced file in Illustrator.
3) Adobe InDesign
Layout for print, long form, and multi page brochures. Perfect for type driven systems and institutional documents.
Tips
Export page marked PDFs for reviews.
Keep images linked in a consistent brand assets folder.
Pair with Fenn
Search by headline, product name, or client keywords across exports and linked copy decks. Fenn surfaces the exact page you need to check, helpful when deadlines make scrolling risky.
4) Figma
Interface design, prototyping, and team review in one. Components and auto layout remove a lot of grunt work.
Tips
Export review PDFs for stakeholders who prefer files.
Keep snapshot exports of milestone frames for archival purposes.
Pair with Fenn
Index your Figma exports, reference images, and specs. Ask questions like, show frames that mention free returns, or surface the spec PDF where the CTA changed. Results come with context so you open the right item fast.
5) Fenn, your private creative recall
Fenn is a file search engine for macOS that understands your content. It runs on device by default for privacy. You choose sources to index, then search with one shortcut. Results include contextual snippets and deep links so you can open the exact page or asset.
Why creatives install Fenn
Find the spread that says Summer Lookbook with a teal gradient, surface the page now.
Ask for every export that mentions free returns and 48 hours, see the matches across folders.
Search images and screenshots when you only remember the visual idea.
Pull the exact email in Apple Mail that contains the approved SOW, then open it in Mail.
Search modes
Semantic, natural language for visual intent and paraphrased copy.
Keyword, exact phrases for product names and legal lines.
Hybrid, combine meaning and exactness.
Exact, strict literal matches when every character matters.
Agent Mode for heavy lifts
Ask one complex question, for example show brochure pages that use the serif subhead and the teal gradient, and let Fenn do the first pass across projects.
Agent Mode works best on higher memory Macs. It runs on 16 GB too. If you want help tuning settings on your Mac, contact us.
Quick setup checklist for creatives
Install Photoshop, Illustrator, and your design stack on an Apple Silicon Mac.
Install Fenn, then add your project folders, exports, linked brand assets, copy decks, and reference screenshots as sources.
Let Fenn index on device.
Use the keyboard shortcut to search. Start in Semantic mode, switch to Keyword, Hybrid, or Exact for precision.
Turn on Agent Mode when you want triage across a whole job.
Download Fenn for Mac. Private on device. Find the moment, not the file.