The free , which you control with a fingertip or stylus, lets you get started quickly in prototyping designs. The app offers an intiutive way to get started with a design, and then share it via email or Twitter, or further refine it in QuarkXPress. You do not have to own QuarkXPress to use DesignPad, but the app will assist professional designers too in executing and sharing quick mockups on-the-go.

When you fire up DesignPad, youre greeted with a clean, unintimidating tableau that offers 11 pre-defined layouts representing popular document types, such as brochure, poster, flyer, display ad, letterhead, and newsletter. Each document has its own structure, which you can change to suit your needs.

The left-hand menu offers three tabs lining the bottom: Type, Size, and Layout. Size give you options in both U.S. and international measurements. Layout gives you options for setting page characteristics such as margins, horizontal and vertical gaps, rows and columns, text and picture areas, bleeds, horizontal and vertical spans, and more.

Controls on the upper right-hand corner of the document window let you adjust grid visability and add content to your layout. Tapping each of the discrete sections of your design evokes several icons that let you independently adjust discrete parts of the design. Tap each icon to access additional design elements and options via a popover box.