Hand-shelved tools
104 tools for people who design and build, on 13 shelves. Each one chosen and written up by hand; nobody pays to be here.
All 104 tools, by shelf
Newly shelved
Type
9
Google FontsOpen-source families you can self-host or load from Google.
FontshareQuality typefaces from Indian Type Foundry, free for commercial use.
UncutA catalogue of contemporary free and open-source display faces.
Pangram PangramIndependent foundry; every family has a free trial for personal use.
Klim Type FoundryKris Sowersby’s foundry, with essays on how each family was drawn.
TypewolfType in the wild: what fonts real sites use and what to pair them with.
Fonts In UseAn archive of typography in print and on screen, indexed by face.
TypescalePick a ratio and base size; get a modular scale and its CSS.
WordmarkType a word and see it set in every font installed on your machine.
Colour
8
Realtime ColorsTry a palette and type pairing on a real page layout as you edit.- Coolors
CoolorsPress space to generate palettes, lock the colours you like. - Huemint
HuemintMachine-learned palettes previewed on brands, sites and gradients. - Adobe Color
Adobe ColorColour wheel harmonies, extraction from images and contrast checks. 
Radix ColorsTwelve-step scales for UI, each with a matching dark mode.
LeonardoAdobe’s tool for generating colour scales by target contrast ratio.- Tints.dev
Tints.devBuild an 11-shade Tailwind scale from one hex value. 
Happy HuesPalettes shown applied to a full page, so you see the roles.
Icons
8
Phosphor IconsA flexible family in six weights, from thin to duotone.
LucideCommunity fork of Feather with over a thousand consistent icons.
HeroiconsHand-drawn SVG icons from the makers of Tailwind CSS.
Tabler IconsThousands of outline icons on a 24px grid with adjustable stroke.
IconoirAn open-source library with a slightly rounded, friendly line.
Remix IconNeutral system icons, each in line and fill styles.- Streamline
StreamlineA huge set of icons, illustrations and emoji in many styles. 
The Noun ProjectMillions of icons from designers around the world, credit or license.
Illustration
7
unDrawOpen illustrations you can recolour to your brand before download.
Open PeepsA hand-drawn library of mix-and-match people by Pablo Stanley.
HumaaansMix-and-match illustrations of people, with poses and outfits.- Blush
BlushCustomisable illustration collections from artists worldwide. 
StorysetEditable and animatable illustrations from the Freepik team.
3diconsOpen-source 3D icons in clay, colour and gradient renders.
DrawKitIllustration packs, 3D sets and icons for product sites.
Photos & video
7- Unsplash
UnsplashFree high-resolution photographs from a large community. - Pexels
PexelsFree stock photos and video clips, no attribution needed. - Openverse
OpenverseSearch hundreds of millions of openly licensed images and sounds. 
CoverrFree stock video made for website backgrounds and hero loops.
MixkitFree video clips, music tracks and sound effects from Envato.
LummiAI-generated stock photos you can search, edit and use freely.
Death to StockMonthly packs of photos that don’t look like stock photos.
Mockups
7
ShotsDrop in a screenshot and get a styled device mockup in seconds.
Mockuuups StudioThousands of drag-and-drop device and scene mockups.- Rotato
RotatoAnimated 3D device mockups rendered on your Mac. - Mockup World
Mockup WorldFree photorealistic mockups for Photoshop, collected since 2013. - Previewed
PreviewedDevice mockups and animated scenes made in the browser. 
Meta DevicesAccurate device frames for phones, tablets, laptops and watches.
ls.graphicsPhotographic mockups and 3D scenes for print and screen.
Components
8
shadcn/uiComponents you copy into your project and own, built on Radix.
Radix PrimitivesUnstyled, accessible React primitives for building design systems.
Headless UIUnstyled, accessible components for React and Vue.
Untitled UIA large Figma UI kit and design system with React components.
Tailwind PlusOfficial Tailwind components, templates and UI blocks.
Magic UIAnimated React components for landing pages, shadcn-compatible.
Aceternity UIMotion-heavy React and Tailwind components to copy and paste.- Material Design 3
Material Design 3Google’s design system: guidance, components and tokens.
Inspiration
10
MobbinScreens and flows from hundreds of real iOS, Android and web apps.
GodlyAstronomically good web design, shown as live video captures.
ReferoSearchable references from real products, tagged by pattern.- Land-book
Land-bookA gallery of landing pages sorted by type, style and colour. 
SiteinspireA long-running showcase of web design, filterable by style.
One Page LoveOne-page websites, templates and resources since 2008.
AwwwardsDaily awards for web design, with jury scores and case studies.
Minimal GalleryHand-picked minimal and functional websites.
SaveeSave and share visual references; a calmer place to collect.
Page FlowsRecorded user flows from real apps: onboarding, checkout and more.
Design tools
8
FigmaCollaborative interface design, prototyping and dev handoff.
PenpotOpen-source design and prototyping that speaks CSS.
FramerDesign and publish real websites from one canvas.
SketchThe native Mac app for interface design, with web handoff.
WebflowVisual web development with a CMS and hosting built in.
ExcalidrawA virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn-looking diagrams.
tldrawA fast, friendly infinite canvas for drawing and diagramming.- Kittl
KittlGraphic design in the browser, strong on type effects and print.
Motion
8
RiveInteractive animations with state machines that run in any app.
JitterMotion design for UI, simple enough to use in an afternoon.
LottieFilesLightweight vector animations and the tools to make and ship them.- ProtoPie
ProtoPieHigh-fidelity prototypes with sensors, variables and logic. 
Origami StudioMeta’s free tool for designing interactive interfaces.
CavalryProcedural 2D animation for motion designers.
EasingsA cheat sheet of easing curves with their CSS and maths.
cubic-bezierLea Verou’s playground for drawing and comparing timing curves.
Build
9
AstroA web framework for content sites that ships little JavaScript.
Tailwind CSSUtility-first CSS that keeps styles next to the markup.
ViteFast dev server and build tool for modern front ends.
Cloudflare PagesDeploy static sites and functions on Cloudflare’s network.
VercelPreview and production deploys for front-end frameworks.
NetlifyGit-based deploys, forms and functions for web projects.
Can I useBrowser support tables for every web platform feature.
MDN Web DocsThe reference for HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
SquooshCompress and compare images in the browser, side by side.
Accessibility
7
WebAIM Contrast CheckerCheck two colours against WCAG contrast ratios.
WAVEEvaluate a page for accessibility errors in place.
Who Can UseSee which kinds of vision can read a colour combination.
StarkAccessibility checks inside Figma, Sketch and the browser.
axe DevToolsAutomated accessibility testing in your browser’s dev tools.
The A11Y ProjectA community checklist and plain-language articles.
Inclusive ComponentsHeydon Pickering on building accessible interface components.
Reading
8
Laws of UXThe psychology behind interface design, one principle at a time.
Refactoring UIPractical design tactics for developers, as a book and videos.
Practical TypographyMatthew Butterick’s online book on typography for everyday writing.
Nielsen Norman GroupDecades of usability research written up as articles.
Smashing MagazineLong-form articles on front-end, UX and design since 2006.
Josh W. ComeauInteractive explainers on CSS, React and animation.
Every LayoutResilient layout primitives built with intrinsic CSS.
The Component GalleryHow real design systems build each component, side by side.
Nothing on the shelves matches .
Why it’s small
Most directories grow until they are a search engine with worse results. Stacks stays small on purpose.
Every tool here was used on real work at Kitefold Labs or recommended by someone we trust, then opened, tried and written up in one line. If we wouldn’t send it to a friend, it doesn’t get a shelf.
Nobody pays to be listed. There are no sponsored rows, no affiliate links and no sign-up wall: every link goes straight to the tool.
Tools that go stale, change hands or start charging for what was free come off the shelves again.
Send a tool
Know a tool that belongs on these shelves? Tell us what you use it for. We read every suggestion, and if it gets a shelf you’ll hear back with the line we wrote for it.
Email your suggestion
No form and no account: the link opens an email to kitefold.labs@gmail.com.
Questions
How does a tool get on a shelf?
Someone uses it on real work and recommends it, we try it ourselves, and it gets one honest line and a shelf. Suggestions by email are welcome.
Does anyone pay to be listed?
No. There are no sponsored rows and no affiliate links. Every link goes straight to the tool’s own site.
Why only a hundred or so?
A list you can read in ten minutes is more useful than one you have to search. When a better tool arrives, a weaker one leaves.
What do Free, Freemium and Paid mean?
Free: what matters costs nothing. Freemium: a useful free tier with paid upgrades. Paid: you pay to use it, though most offer a trial.
A link is broken or a price changed.
Write to kitefold.labs@gmail.com and we’ll fix it the same week. Tools change; the shelves should keep up.
Can I link to one shelf?
Yes. Pick a shelf or search, and the address changes to match. Share it and it opens on the same view.
Who keeps Stacks?
Kitefold Labs, a small studio that makes apps and browser extensions for everyday annoyances. Stacks is the list we kept for ourselves, made public.