Holiday Gifts for Graphic Designers
- Ryan Briggs
- Dec 7, 2016
- 2 min read
The Holidays are here again, and it’s that time of the year when we’re all in search of that perfect gift for our loved ones.
Is your loved one a graphic designer, and you’re not sure what to get them? Or maybe you’re a designer yourself and you can't decide what to put on your wish list? Maybe I can help. Here's a list of design-related gifts and gadgets that will ensure the designer in your life has the happiest of Holidays.
Apple Watch: When it comes to high-end Holiday gifts for designers, it’s hard to beat an Apple Watch. The Series 2 watches are stylish, sleek, and loaded with a faster dual-core processor and more great features than the first generation.
Pantone Coffee Mug: Because coffee and designers go together like Pantone 296 and Pantone 7472.
UI Stencils: These handy stencils make sketching your wireframes and Web designs a breeze.
Duet Display App: Turn your iPad Pro into a second (Third? Fourth?) display or drawing tablet with this easy-to-use app. I use this app in my home office, and I love it.
Apple Pencil: Speaking of using your iPad Pro as a drawing tablet, to do that, you’ll need an Apple Pencil. This next-generation stylus takes full advantage of the Pro’s Multi-Touch functionality, and the number of apps that support it is growing every day.
Wacom Tablet: If a real, dedicated tablet is more your style, then you can’t go wrong with a Wacom. If you or your loved one have been thinking of ditching the mouse and taking the tablet plunge when using your/their favorite design programs, now is as good of a time as ever. The Intuos Pro is their top-of-the-line model
Posters from Aesthetic Apparatus: The brainchild of artist/designer/illustrator Michael Byzewski, Aesthetic Apparatus is a design and printmaking shop out of Minneapolis. AA takes on all kinds of projects, but is probably best known for its screen printed concert posters. Check them out. They look really nice framed.
Magazine Subscription: OK, so the term “magazine subscription” is somewhat antiquated. Regardless of what you choose to call Print, Communication Arts, HOW, or Graphic Design USA, these are the big publications of the trade. Whether print or digital, every designer should have a subscription to at least one of them. They make great reading material, and are chock-full of morsels of creative inspiration.
Drafting/Crafting Table: The 10050 Futura Craft Station by Studio Designs is an excellent multi-purpose table that packs a lot of utility into its reasonable size (and reasonable cost). Crafting? Drawing? Drafting? Yes, yes, and yes. It makes a great addition to any home office.
Books on Design: Need more reading material than magazines? There are a lot of great books out there on the subject of design. I’ll pass on the obvious classics like Milton Glaser: Graphic Design or Paul Rand: A Designer's Art (though you or your favorite designer should definitely read those too) and recommend some more contemporary reads like Know Your Onions: Graphic Design, How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul, Unflattening, The Creative Habit, and Steal Like an Artist.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Comments