A list, in no particular order. If I had to give up their use, I’d probably give up design…ok, maybe a little dramatic, but fun to say either way.

1. SNAGIT! - Screen Capture Software | $38.95

Snagit screen capture software is superior to anything on your Windows OS, your Mac OS, or any OS for that matter. It’s like having a digital camera in the virtual world. Don’t worry about processing. Just click, click, click.

Snagit Screen Capture Software

2. Adobe Creative Suite 3 Premium Design Edition | Upgrade $599 | Full Pkg $1,799

Don’t try to design without Adobe. It’s like trying to sing without a voice. And now that Adobe bought Macromedia, I actually saved money when I upgraded. There’s no software out there for designers that works as well as the tools in this package. (By the way, I’m including prices because it helps illustrate to potential clients the cost of getting setup to do serious design work…not to mention the years necessary to build up a good intuition.)

Adobe CS3 Design Premium

3. Moleskine Pocket Sketchbooks | $9.95

A designer should never be caught pulling anything else out of their pocket to jot down an idea. It just doesn’t look good.

moleskines.com

4. Nikon D70 (D80) SLR Camera | Pkg $1299 | Body Only $999

I realize this camera is ancient by today’s standards, however I’ve never, in the time I’ve used it, ever felt like, Gee, I which it would do that. I’m sure the D80 only better.

Nikon USA

5. Old Fashion Lightbox | $170

Ok, I’ve designed for years without one. Just purchased the Porta-Trac 18×24 last week. I knew that once I had one…well that’s why it’s on this list.

6. Powell’s Books | $$ Varies

Or any great bookstore (although I’m not sure one exists better than Powell’s). If you’re a Portland native, you know. If you’re not, and you ever visit, definitely visit Powell’s Books.

Powells Books

7. Diet Coke | $0.60 x many

After Starbucks in the A.M, a steady stream of dangerous chemicals are needed to reach full creative potential - namely more caffeine.

8. Electric Eraser + Electric Pencil Sharpener | Approx $50

The one needs the other in the quest for efficiency.

9. A Book/Copy Stand | $20

After years of peering over flat books while trying to learn how to do this or that thing, my neck is now in much better condition, thanks to this cheap little desktop assistant.

10. Gigads of RAM | $100 +

More, more, more. I need more.

The idea for this post was inspired by El Decor Magazine. Each issue they feature some famous designer I’ve never heard of and their 10 things they couldn’t live without. I’m not famous, so I had to post on my own blog, but if anyone would like to link to their own “10 Tools ______ Couldn’t Design Without”, please feel free to share.

Wow!

I just spent the last three hours searching for the Windows Holy Grail - how to quickly create a new folder with a keyboard shortcut. I understand Mac users have never had this issue. They’ve been given Shift-Command-N (or Command-N). For Windows users the best solution I could find was the suggestion to memorize Alt, F, Enter, Enter. As anyone who makes their livelihood behind an LCD panel knows, keyboard shortcuts are the key to efficiency and memorizing long keyboard combinations to navigate menus is not a shortcut.

So after searching long and hard, I decided to test something. I tried Adobe CS3 Bridge as my default file manager.

Guess what. In Bridge, it’s as simple as Control-Shift-N. Voila, I have a new folder. I name it. I move on.

I hope by sharing this tip other designers out there using PCs (I know we’re a small crowd), I save you 3 hours of your time.

P.S. This post is the sort of post I’d like to run on my new blog, MonkeyintheMachine.com. While the blog is in it’s infancy, I am open to guest writers if your submission pertains to the topic of how to survive as a cog. Excuse the lack of design so far. I’ll be working on something good this summer.

While hiking this weekend I stumbled upon this doe and her two fawns.

At 50 yards I wasn’t at a perfect range for my Nikon 18-70mm lens, but I decided to snap a shot before I got too close. That’s when I realized how absolutely loud the shutter is on a digital SLR. Ughh! Luckily I was able to get this picture, because the next second they were gone.

Perhaps someday the engineers at Nikon will take the single-lens-reflex out of the digital SLR.

Today Apple launched the iPhone. This is old news. I haven’t followed it closely, but I decided to take this opportunity to give my two cents.

I read reviews to get perspective. I looked up the AT&T plan to gauge costs of ownership. Last on my list, shop Apple to get an idea what this feels like to buy.

Now, I should note I did not intend to make this purchase. In fact I was fully aware it’d be like trying to get a Nintendo Wii for the last six months. But I was surprised to see this message. So I changed the course of my review and decided to review this message - since it is on an iPhone.

First, I’ll start with the positives. It appears to have full signal strength. Starting at $59.99 per month with 450 talk minutes, this should be expected.

Second, battery life is full. And since it’ll be at least eight hours before the Apple store is back up and running, this is a good thing. Also, I guess in the world of on-line shopping 8 hours is a good example of “back soon”.

So the jury is still out on the iPhone. Is it revolutionary? Is it a dud? What is it?

I’m not going to make a prediction, however if I ever do find the change to put down $500+ on a phone, I really hope I get more than one color of Post-it note.

No long waits in line

This weekened I decided to try on-line grocery shopping for the first time. In the past it’s always seemed too expensive, but after going most of this year avoiding the awful chore of shopping down dreary isles, and instead eating out, I figured, in the end, it’s probably cheaper. No impulsive purchases. No long waits. And when you start running your own business and caculating those unbilled hours spent…well you get the picture.

Click, Order, and Forget

So on Saturday I logged on to NewSeasonsMarket.com, a locally owned grocer, and in about 15 minues I’d spent $50 (which includes the $10 to have the groceries delivered to my door). I just wanted to test it out and I realize that the delivery fee would be much cheaper per pound of grocery if I’d ordered more.

What the rich forget

Around 6:00 that night, a delivery arrives on my doorstep - three bags of groceries and a thank-you, plus a free quart of organic strawberry ice cream. And it wasn’t until I took two steps back with my groceries and closed the door that I realized I’d experienced something that the rich must feel - to never have to go to a grocery store again.

This summer I enrolled in a graphic novel course to force myself to finish one of my long-time goals - to create a graphic novel. Unfortunately I’m finding I may not be as geared toward that sort of thing as I thought. However, I am enjoying the idea of producing a much shorter, serialized comic. I thought I’d share my first attempt, Monkey in the Machine [PDF 569K]..

It’s only 2 pages - which I’m finding is ideal - and it’s drawn entirely within Illustrator, which I’m hoping designers/illustrators can recognize, as that’s sort of the point.

No matter how many critiques I’ve experienced they never get easier. In fact, I think the primary objective of design school is to put you through as many critiques as possible before you go out and try to succeed on your own. Here’s a list that I find helpful when trying to recover from an especially brutal critique.

• Look for the truth beneath the clutter. Just as it’s hard to take criticism, it’s hard to give effectively, especially in a professional setting. This means words that are meant to mean one thing, likely mean something else. Get clarification.
• Have pride. If someone offers a criticism that seems off-base, or you feel stems from personal taste, stand up for your work. Not to be an egoist, but if you can’t defend a design decision with valid points, maybe there is merit to the comment. On the flip side, if you let a single comment trigger a complete rework of an otherwise valid design, then you’re hurting the client and your team.
• Go into a critique seeking harsh feedback. The truth is - it should come, especially if this is a first review. If it doesn’t and all you hear is “ah, that’s great!” or worse, silence, then you know you’re in trouble. The next review you show only a slight modification of what “everyone liked” and they’ll come back with a huge list of changes. Remember, as soon as you left the last design review, they all expressed what they really felt. Elicit feedback. If someone doesn’t give it, take the dangerous step and start critiquing it yourself.
• Give yourself a false deadline so that you’re never showing what you just designed. The design needs at least a day. What you see after letting it rest for a day will be what the client sees.
• Never get defensive. This is hard, especially when you feel the criticism is off-base. Responding with a valid argument is not defensive. Saying “It’s because that’s how I think it should be. And you can take it or leave it. What are you, a designer?” is defensive.
• And of course you can always resort to a few minutes of theraputic Photoshop on pictures of the client*.

This is only a short list. There’s probably a ton of tips out there on how to survive a critique. And as insane as it may seem, I think all designers look forward to critiques or reviews. It’s the only time you ever get to really hear what people think about your work. And it usually means you’ll create something better.

* P.S. If you happened to visit this post within the first 15 minutes, you would have seen my photoshop work on a group of stock pic biz people - hypotethical clients. I found it disturbing on my home page, so I’ve since removed. But I’m sure you all know what I mean.