A part of what makes Apple’s iPad expertise so compelling is the sheer versatility of the pill. Again after I reviewed the brand new iPad Air with M3, I referred to as out the a number of methods of utilizing it: contact, Apple Pencil, or through a Magic Keyboard. It’s a reasonably successful components.
Right here within the States, it was Small Enterprise Week final week, and I had the prospect to speak with Mandy Corcoran, a floor designer whose work has been used on merchandise offered at Residence Items, TJMaxx, and Nordstrom Rack, to call just a few.
Now, I really like a superb design in its personal proper, however the tech angle right here lies deep as Corcoran – who goes by Amanda Grace Design – makes use of an iPad Professional, Apple Pencil, and Procreate to do all of it.
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It began in 2018 on Christmas morning, when her husband gave her an iPad Professional and Apple Pencil, and as Corcoran says, “it changed everything.”
“I downloaded Procreate that day, and something just clicked,” she defined, noting that the Apple Pencil felt pure. After sketching digitally inside Procreate, she had a realization that this might be a bigger a part of her life.
A drawing by TechRadar’s personal Lance Ulanoff on an iPad mini (2024) and Procreate (Picture credit score: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Earlier than leaping into design work, Corcoran was rooted in tech; she was a programmer, which she described as very logic-based – “it’s structure, flow, and problem-solving, which always appealed to my brain. When I found seamless pattern design in Procreate, it felt like a creative extension of that mindset.” And he or she obtained her begin with drawing – pre iPad – utilizing a Wacom Cintiq and Adobe Photoshop.
When she designs patterns with Procreate, Corcoran says it lets her use her “tech-brain” creatively. She explains that there’s a mathematical precision to the artistic and design course of, as she wants to suit varied designs collectively, determine the best move, and finally find yourself with one thing significant.
“For me, it’s all about giving people tools to unlock their creativity faster,” explains Corcoran on creating templates and patterns. She famous that when she first began, there weren’t many templates or charts to assist with structure and eyeflow.
So, when she first started designing, she went on a deep dive inside the app and ecosystem, studying each a part of it. This helped her create her first course and turn into one of many first educators providing customizable sample templates in 2023.
And her focus, or particular sauce, is actually throughout floor design – creating the instruments herself, but additionally providing programs to let others create with these instruments and design their very own.
It’s kind of an iPad ecosystem for design, and a well-brewing one at that. She explains it as, “I run a design business, create online courses, build templates, test brushes,” all on the iPad, and it’s one system the place she will have every little thing dwell with out worrying about if there’s sufficient energy or velocity.
The iPad Professional M4 with Apple Pencil (Picture credit score: Future)
Corcoran makes use of an iPad Professional, a 13-inch one with the M4 chip beneath the hood. In TechRadar’s testing, it carried out extremely effectively, letting you blaze by way of virtually any process you’d wish to on an iPad and operating extra intensive artistic workflows and not using a hitch.
She has been a fan of the Apple Pencil, describing it as “an extension of your thinking.” Corcoran’s been utilizing the Apple Pencil Professional together with her iPad Professional, which affords a bit extra performance, together with barrel roll help and squeeze performance.
“As someone who loves creating systems, I really appreciate how hover, double tap, and now squeeze with Apple Pencil Pro give me shortcuts at my fingertips – without ever putting my pencil down. That’s huge,” explains Corcoran.
Utilizing all of it collectively inside Procreate and different artistic apps, it permits for extra precision when making a design, and when Corcoran is educating, it’s a neater option to clarify “how to move faster” and with extra confidence.
It’s clear that iPad and Apple Pencil have been a key a part of Corcoran’s profession, permitting her to create her personal enterprise but additionally encouraging people to create and design on their very own. “iPad and Apple Pencil have allowed me to build a creative career on my own terms – and that’s not something I take for granted.”
Additional, she says that you simply don’t should be an knowledgeable to get began with being artistic on iPad, encouraging of us and TechRadar readers to “just open an app like Procreate, tap around, and start playing.”
Corcoran giving her Right now at Apple Session in April 2025 (Picture credit score: Paul Corcoran)
A number of weeks again, on April 26, 2025, on the Apple Carnegie retailer in Washington, DC, Corcoran hosted a Right now at Apple Session for 30 individuals on creating inside Procreate utilizing patterns round a fruit theme. She described it as a full-circle second, finally permitting her to show what has been a life-changing course of for her.
After creating numerous patterns and designs – some now featured on merchandise in main retailers – she left the gang feeling impressed and assured.
“A few people told me afterward they’d never even realized how many things in their lives had patterns – and that this opened their eyes in a completely new way,” famous Corcoran.
(Picture credit score: Paul Corcoran)
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