My Design Toolbox

Let us start with the area of typography. It’s one of my favourite parts of design, but also one of the most demanding - so some tools have proved to be indispensable.

Type Selector

This wonderful font swatch provide you with samples of over 200 typefaces, with a great register in the front.

I use this constantly as a reference, a source of inspiration or as a quick way to show others a specific typeface. A must-have!

Type catalogs

I have a shelf full of type catalogs. Not only are they great for finding typefaces for a specific project, but they are also a terrific source of inspiration. Type catalogs are, after all, made to spark your imagination…

Newspapers

I have a couple of newspapers laying in a stack, that I tend to look to for inspiration on how to massage my typefaces. In fact, last time I checked, I had 15.

I won’t mention them all here, of course, but I will mention a copy of the Independent from before the redesign, that I treasure, and is probably one of my most valued pieces of design that I own.

Magazines

Mark, Frame, Wallpaper*, Grafik, Monocle… All are great for typographic inspiration. I collect as many as I can, causing my bookcase to suffer immensely.

The Elements of Typographic Style

Everyone should read this book by Robert Bringhurst. It’s quite simply the best book on type I have read to date.

I’ve brought this to every talk on typography I’ve ever held - and even bribed people to read it.

My Inkjet Printer

If you’re designing for print – print your type samples. Print them at many sizes, at many stages of your design process. Type looks extremely different on screen and on paper. No matter how confident you are, looking at the sample in InDesign, Suitcase of FontExplorer X, print!

Color

I think color may be the thing most designers struggle the most with getting right. Luckily, there are some tools for that too.

Color Mixer Wheel

This little thing that I picked up from Office Depot for just a couple of bucks is simply a lifesaver! (Also available from Amazon)

It basically lets you choose a color, and tells you the complimentary contrast color and the triad colors. It’s not as powerful as Kuler, and the like but it’s much, much quicker.

Clothes

Even though I suck at color theory - I do know not to wear a lime-green shirt with orange pants. However, I know that the lime-green shirt may work under a black jacket with dark jeans. So when designing, I usually ask myself: "Would I wear this color palette?".

Ideas

So how do you get the ideas and inspiration to get to put these tools to use in the first place? Now that’s a more tricky one, but there are some tools left for that as well…

Moleskine

Never, ever leave home without it. And use it for doodling during meetings, jotting down thoughts and ideas that come to you during the morning commute. (Not recommended if you’re driving yourself.)

Not only do they keep your good ideas - they also keep your bad ones, so you can better learn from them. We all have bad ideas from time to time, and it’s always better to remember them than to repeat them.

Art

Go to galleries and museums. I try to go to a gallery at least once every couple of weeks. Not only are there some amazing artists out there, they can also inspire you in ways you didn’t even considered.

Walls

As everyone that has subscribed to my Flickr-feed can attest to, I love me some walls.

Seeing how walls basically are blank canvases, on which cracks, wires, windows and paint cause them to get their own special identity – I find them a great way to inspire myself as to what to do with my own blank canvas.

So, there you have it… My main tools in the design toolbox, dumped out onto the floor. Now, go pick them up, and go make some design.