The Best Tattoo Design Apps and How to Create One For You?

Did you know that the primary demographic driving the demand for tattoos in the United States consists of adults aged 20 to 64? As a result, it’s highly probable that an individual will acquire a tattoo before turning 50.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global tattoo market size was valued at USD 1.89 billion in 2022. These figures are further projected to grow from USD 2.04 billion in 2023 to USD 3.93 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.87% during the forecast period.

This shows that the tattoo industry will continue to experience significant growth and demand to become a substantial market with a global reach. 

So if you’re an emerging tattoo artist who wants to harness the power of technology then a tattoo design app is what you need to elevate your business to new heights.

Imagine providing a magic tool to your clients from which they are able to experiment with various design elements, sizes, and placements, all within the convenience of their smartphones.

With a tattoo design app at your disposal, you can erase all the uncertainty factors that often deteriorate the decision-making processes for your clients. It will allow your clients to visualize how their chosen design will look on their skin.

This will certainly bridge the gap between imagination and reality which can significantly enhance customer satisfaction.

Moreover, a tattoo design app can even eliminate the need for you to open a tattoo parlor as the app can act as a digital storefront for your business.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the insights on how to create a tattoo design app and the estimated cost of developing a tattoo design app. We’ll also tell you how you can make money from your app with additional information about the top 5 tattoo design apps.

However, it is important to first understand why you need to develop an app for your tattoo business in the first place. So without any further ado, let’s get started! 

Why Do You Need to Create a Tattoo Design App?

Tattoo design apps can make your life easier. It can assist both, customers and tattoo artists. Getting a tattoo on your skin is permanent and a tattoo design app can help you visualize the tattoo before it is done. 

And while pencil and paper are always an option for designing a tattoo, a tattoo design app can save you time by helping you create and show complete designs to a potential customer. 

If you’re an artist then a tattoo design can help you convey your tattoo designs to clients in a much easier way.

Here are some of the reasons for developing a tattoo design app for your business as an artist:

Convenience

A tattoo design app brings convenience to you as a tattoo artist and your customers. 

It eliminates the need for your users to trek from one parlor to another with the hope of stumbling upon their ideal design. 

By building a tattoo design app, your customers are free to browse through a variety of tattoo designs with the ability to customize them. 

Predictive Visualizing

A tattoo design app can help your customers actually see how the tattoo will look on their bodies before taking the ink plunge. 

It even helps in trying out multiple designs on the body canvas virtually until a customer is satisfied with the design.

Customization

With a tattoo design app, your clients are not limited to off-the-shelf designs. Instead, they have the option to easily adjust the size, color, and placement of the tattoo design they want.

Inspiration

A tattoo design app offers a treasure trove of designs to your customer which can be an inspiration for their next tattoo. 

Whether they like bold tribal patterns or intricate mandalas, your tattoo design app serves as a boundless source of ideas. 

By creating a tattoo design app, you give your clients an entire gallery of designs in their pockets that are ready to kindle their imagination.

Revenue Streams

A tattoo design app can unlock a world of business opportunities for a tattoo artist. It can be a digital storefront without necessarily needing to open a tattoo parlor. 

The app can generate revenue through advertisements, in-app purchases, or by selling designs to tattoo parlors. 

It can even allow you to share your knowledge through articles, videos, or tutorials. You can read more on how to monetize your tattoo design app later in this article.

How to Create a Tattoo Design App [Easy Steps]

Creating a custom tattoo design app is a complex process. Here are the steps to create a tattoo design app:

Defining App Purpose and Features

This is the first step for building a tattoo design app that pinpoints the app’s purpose. 

This phase can decide whether your app wants to empower users to create unique tattoos, assist tattoo artists in design visualization, or both. 

Detail the features in this step to make your app stand out such as design customization and pre-visualization capabilities. 

You can also integrate social media or location-based services to find tattoo studios. 

Conducting Market Research

Conduct thorough market research to understand the needs and pain points of potential users. 

This will help you identify your target audience from which you can tailor your app according to their requirements.

You can even hire a leading research and development company to conduct market research for you before developing your tattoo design app.

Design and User Experience

Focus on developing an interface that’s not only visually appealing but also user-friendly. 

Prioritize smooth navigation and intuitive interactions to achieve smooth UI for your tattoo design app for iPhone or Android.

Moreover, follow the best UX practices to achieve seamless user experience and compatibility.

Developing the Tattoo Design App

Select the appropriate programming languages and frameworks based on your target platforms (iOS and Android). 

You can partner with a trusted mobile app development company to build your best tattoo design app for Android or iOS with responsive and feature-rich functions. 

Testing and Quality Assurance

You need to test your app in the pre-launch phase thoroughly to ensure smooth functionality, performance, and usability. 

Emphasize the importance of rigorous testing to ensure your app is bug-free. This will provide your app with a smooth user experience.

Deployment

This is the stage where your developers will publish the app to the respective stores; Apple App Store for iOS and Google Play Store for Android. 

Ensure that your app meets all the requirements and standards. This involves preparing app assets, writing compelling descriptions, and setting up necessary accounts.

Maintenance and Updates

Regularly maintain your app to keep it running smoothly. Additionally, the importance of app maintenance lies in releasing updates that introduce new features and fix issues.

And if you’re thinking about the cost to maintain an app then it is around 15% – 20% of the initial app development cost.

Highlight the importance of releasing updates that introduce new features and fix issues. 

Addressing Legal Considerations

Touch on the legal aspects of app development, including data privacy, copyright, and intellectual property rights for tattoo designs.

 Patent your app and draft terms of use for the app that protects both users and the app while also complying with relevant regulations.

What are the Top 5 Tattoo Design Apps?

There are some best tattoo design apps in the market that you can study. Here are some of them:

1) InkHunter

InkHunter is one of the famous tattoo creation tools that brings the power of augmented reality to tattoo enthusiasts. 

With this app, users can check out a virtual tattoo on their skin with the try-on experience. It’s as simple as selecting a design and aiming their smartphone camera at the desired spot on their body. 

The app superimposes the chosen tattoo onto their skin in real-time which allows them to visualize how it would look before making a permanent decision. 

InkHunter’s use of augmented reality provides a fun and interactive way to explore different designs and placements without any commitment.

Features

• “Focus” feature for zooming in on specific design areas.
• Diverse selection of design elements: images, symbols, text.
• Augmented reality (AR) lets users test designs on their skin via a phone camera.
• Edit tools for customization: colors, sizes, details.

2) Tattoo Do

Tattoo Do is a treasure trove for design enthusiasts that offers an extensive collection of tattoo categories to discover. 

It is one of the popular tattoo design apps that allows users to explore a diverse range of styles and concepts to find inspiration for new tattoo designs. 

Moreover, the app’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to search and save designs which help users curate their personal portfolio of tattoo ideas.

Features

• Location-based function locates the best local tattoo studios for convenient choices.
• Tattoodo is a community-based app for connecting with skilled tattoo artists, akin to tattoo-focused Instagram.
• App gains user acclaim for reliable tattoo inspiration and discovery.

3) Inksquad

Inksquad Artist is one of the tailored apps for tattoo artists worldwide.

It simplifies the color-matching process by automatically matching colors in artists’ sketches with those in the main ink catalogs. 

This feature ensures that the envisioned colors are accurately represented on the skin. 

Inksquad empowers tattoo artists by providing a precise tool that aids in transforming their creative visions into vibrant and accurate tattoo designs.

Features

• Import personal images or sketches from files or Procreate, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
• Effortlessly locate desired colors by dragging markers in the image.
• Inksquad Artist matches image colors with the finest shades in ink catalogs.
• Automatically matches with 400+ colors, including European shades.
• Perform comprehensive color analysis using the Color Wheel.

4) Tattoo Fonts

Tattoo Fonts specializes in font design by offering a range of font styles that can be customized to create unique tattoo designs. 

It is one of the best tattoo design apps that allow users to input their desired text and customize aspects like size and alignment. 

Whether it’s a meaningful quote, a name, or an expression, Tattoo Fonts offers an avenue for users to craft their own customized tattoo lettering.

Features

• Input text or select templates to preview varied fonts with chosen text.
• Customize font size, color, spacing, and alignment for full design control.
• Tracing feature lets users create personalized designs by tracing handwriting or images.

5) Tattoo Stencil

Tattoo Stencil is a dedicated app designed to facilitate the stencil creation process for tattoo designs. 

Tattoo artists and enthusiasts can take advantage of this tool to generate precise stencils for their chosen designs. 

This resource simplifies the transition from paper sketches to skin which ensures that the design is accurately transferred for the inking process.

Features

• Utilize the app’s tracing feature to craft precise stencils for accurate tattooing.
• Tattoo Stencil enables printing, saving, or sharing stencils for quick reference.
• The mirror image feature flips designs horizontally for stenciling specific body areas.

What is the Estimate Tattoo Design App Development Cost?

The estimated tattoo design app cost depends on the complexity of the app being developed. Here are the details for the tattoo app development cost according to different app complexities:

Moreover, there are other factors that can increase or decrease the tattoo application development cost. Here are some of them:

Region

The location where the development occurs can impact expenses. 

Typically, app development expenses are greater in areas with pricier labor, like North America and Western Europe, in contrast to regions with more affordable labor, such as Asia and Eastern Europe.

• Western Europe and North America: In North America and Western Europe, development teams commonly charge the highest hourly rates.

• Eastern Europe: In comparison to North America and Western Europe, development teams situated in Eastern Europe usually offer lower hourly rates.

• Asia: In countries across Asia like India, China, and the Philippines, development teams typically offer the most budget-friendly hourly rates.

Here is the average hourly rate for app developers for each region:

Western Europe: $25 – $30

Eastern Europe: $17 – $25

North America: $60 – $80

Asia: $13 – $30

In-House Developers vs. Freelancers

Experienced and proficient developers usually come with a greater expense, yet they also guarantee a superior final product. 

On the other hand, opting for less seasoned developers could yield reduced expenses, but the final product might lack refinement. 

The subsequent illustration demonstrates how diverse hiring choices can impact app development expenses:

• In-House Developers: Hiring an in-house development team to build a tattoo design app can be among the costly alternatives. According to Statista, an app developer’s average annual salary in the United States stands at approximately $210000.
• Freelancers: Hiring a freelance developer could be a budget-friendly choice for small projects or when specialized skills are required. On average, freelance app developers charge an hourly rate ranging from approximately $13 to $60.

In the end, your selection of hiring method depends on your budget, project requirements, and your degree of engagement in the development journey. 

It’s crucial to carefully evaluate all alternatives prior to making a choice that can impact both the app’s quality and its development expenses.

What are the Strategies and Tips to Monetize a Tattoo Design App?

Monetizing your tattoo designer app is not just about generating revenue, but also about delivering value to your users.

Developing a thriving tattoo app requires a combination of exceptional design, user-centric experience, and effective revenue-generation tactics.

Here are the strategies and tips for monetizing a tattoo design app that can help you generate revenue from your business:

In-App Purchases

Provide users the option to enhance their experience by purchasing premium design elements or advanced tools directly within the app. This strategy offers users valuable upgrades while generating revenue for your app.

Affiliate Marketing

Collaborate with tattoo-related brands through affiliate marketing. Partnering allows you to earn a commission for every sale made via your app. This will allow you to leverage your platform in selling and promoting products.

Advertisements

Integrate targeted advertisements within the app to generate revenue. By displaying relevant ads, you can monetize user engagement and interactions while providing users with free access to the app’s content.

Sponsored Content

Collaborate with tattoo artists or brands to create sponsored content like tutorials and design showcases. This content can be featured within your app that offers value to users while generating revenue through partnerships.

Data Analysis

Collect and analyze user data to gain valuable insights into their behaviors and preferences. This information enables you to refine your app’s offerings. This will help you attract more potential customers and increase monetization opportunities. 

Conclusion

The world of tattoos is evolving which is driven by a demographic hungry for self-expression and a market that’s rapidly expanding. 

The journey towards creating your own tattoo design app is more than just a trend; it’s a strategic move that can elevate your business to new heights by providing clients with an immersive experience.

This blog has outlined the essential reasons why a tattoo design app is vital for your business, the steps to create one, cost estimations, and effective strategies for monetization. 

Now as you set foot in this transformative endeavor, remember that your app isn’t merely a piece of software – it’s a doorway to a more interactive and dynamic relationship with your clients.