In this week’s episode we take a look at the tools and equipment that help us in our daily design work. We look at everything from what hardware we’re using to which apps save us countless hours and headaches. I hope you have your notepads ready, because I guarantee you’ll walk away from this episode with some handy new tools and services lined up to transform how you work.
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Show Notes for This Episode:
[1:00] This week’s we’re talking all about tools of the trade
[1:30] Ian suggest firstly sharing which types of computers all the hosts are using
[2:00] Tom is using a 5-year-old MacBook Pro and always has multiple windows and tabs opened
[2:40] Ian is using a 27” 5K display iMac, a 12.9” iPad Pro and Apple Pencil and also a Microsoft Surface
[4:00] Dustin has a similar set-up as Ian and uses a 27” 5K display iMac a 12.9” iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. He recently got a small MacBook and also has an Epson Perfection v600 scanner
[5:00] Lisa has a 21.5” iMac which is a bit slow, a MacBook Pro, an iPad Pro and a Cannon scanner
[6:30] All the hosts use the same Blue Yeti microphone but they’re hoping to upgrade to something better soon
[7:00] In terms of design software all four hosts use Adobe Creative Cloud and they all have subscriptions
[8:00] The hosts debate Adobe’s model but all agree that the price of the subscription works out well as buying the programs would be too expensive to afford
[9:00] Ian found it a bit hard to afford the Adobe subscription as a first-time freelancer
[10:00] He thinks of selling his iMac to get a MacBook Pro as he is travelling more and finds the model of renting equipment more useful
[10:50] Tom says that times are changing and this reflects in the subscription and cloud models
[11:20] Other more affordable design programs are also eating a bit of Adobe’s market share
[12:20] For programs used on the iPad the hosts prefer using Procreate
[13:30] Ian mentions the app Mailplane which allows him to access multiple Gmail accounts at the same time and it keeps the web interface
[14:00] Lisa finds Outlook very useful for accessing her emails and Tom mentions he also uses this and Gmail for his work emails
[15:20] Ian likes Gmail’s feature which allows you to split your emails into different sections such as Updates, Promotions, Social and main Inbox
[16:15] Dustin says he uses Airmail 3 and likes mailstrom.co which he uses frequently
[17:15] For instant communication Tom and the DC team use Slack. Dustin also uses it sometimes
[18:30] Tom lists all the great features of the Slack instant messaging app
[19:20] For organising his multitude of fonts Ian uses FontExplore X Pro
[20:20] Tom wishes he would be able to organize fonts in Photoshop under categories and subcategories such as: hand drawn fonts
[21:00] Ian says that FontExplore X Pro includes these features but it doesn’t come cheap
[21:45] Tom has to scroll through thousands of fonts to find the one he needs for a project and finds this time consuming and very frustrating
[23:00] Dustin lists and describes two non-design apps which he uses frequently: Yoink and Paste
[24:30] Another app that Dustin uses often is Bartender 2 which allows him to sort his apps on the Mac
[25:30] Tom uses the Freshbooks or Quickbooks webapps for invoicing
[27:20] Lisa got introduced by Tom to TextExpander and she finds it really useful
[28:00] Tom and Lisa explain how TextExpender works and all of its benefits
[29:30] Dustin mentions he uses CloudApp for easy file sharing
[30:20] Ian uses a similar app called Droplr and Dropbox for file sharing
[31:30] Ian and Tom mention a few backup solutions and secrets
[32:15] Lisa hides her hard drive when she goes on vacation
[33:00] Dustin suggest listing other physical things that make their day better
[33:15] Ian uses paintbrushes and has a huge amount of pens and he always starts his work on the paper before transferring it to digital
[34:30] The hosts share a common love for notebooks
[36:00] Ian has a printer/scanner which he allows him to do work with A3 paper formats
[37:00] Lisa asks the other hosts if they have files they constantly use and mentions she has a folder with 10 files she uses the most
[38:00] Tom saves PSD templates which he frequently uses for social graphics or email headers
[38:30] Dustin mentions that at RetroSupply.Co they’ve done products from which they can pull assets and use constantly
[39:40] The hosts agree that having textures and/or fonts saved in a folder are a real time saver
[40:15] Ian has a Wacom tablet which he uses mostly as a mouse
[41:30] He reveals that he finds hand lettering easier on the iPad as he can see what he’s doing, rather than on the Wacom tablet which shows the work on the computer screen
[42:00] Dustin tells the hosts his preference of coffee and coffee makers
[43:30] Lisa says she wouldn’t be able to live without Astropad and uses this to connect the iPad to her computer
[44:30] Ian finds Procreate better for his designer needs and reveals the reasons why he doesn’t use Photoshop for lettering
[46:00] For recording videos Ian recommends using a decent microphone like the Blue Yeti the hosts use for recording the podcast
[46:50] Tom suggests that for Instagram recordings it’s better to use the phone camera app rather than recording directly through Instagram
[47:20] Dustin uses an Ikea shelf for all his stationary
[48:00] Ian’s shelves are full of books
[49:00] Dustin has a Grovemade wooden stand for his computer, which is great but he admits that it’s not very cheap
[50:00] Ian thinks it’s also important to reveal the type of chairs the hosts are using and he says he bought an ergonomic Herman Miller office chair for an incredible discount
[52:00] Tom reiterates that these tools do make the designer’s life better and save a lot of time
[52:40] Lisa clarifies that before you go and spend a lot of money on the gadgets it’s important to get started with the pen and paper
[53:00] If an app it’s a massive time saver then it’s worth investing in it
[53:30] The hosts have accumulated these tools in time
[54:40] Ian agrees that is worth investing in the things that he uses the most
[55:20] Tom treated himself to his laptop around the time he started Design Cuts and found it very useful as it was much faster than his old computer
[56:20] For recording the screen Ian says he uses Screenflick which records the screen and audio
[57:20] Ian lists all the features of the Screenflick software and Tom is thinking of transitioning to this
[57:40] Tom recommends Wistia for adding videos to your website portfolio
[58:40] Dustin also uses Wistia and lists a few more benefits of using this
[59:30] Ian mentions the Clean My Mac app and which finds files that you’re not using anymore and collects them in one place making it easier to delete them all in one go
[1:01:20] Thank you for listening to this week’s episode
“A must for every creative freelancer (or those aspiring to freelance). Thank you for being so… honest! Such a wealth of information from people I admire who have ‘been there and done that’. Listening to the podcast every week feels like I’m among friends. Can’t wait for more episodes!” – AG_GD
Not only do I love listening to these each week…I super appreciate the detailed notes of each podcast!! I listened to this a couple of weeks ago and today remembered I wanted to look up some of the software recommended…instead of trawling through the whole podcast I could simply find it in the show notes. THANK YOU! x
Hey Jacqui, thank you so much for the feedback on the podcast and I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy listening each week. I am really glad to hear that you’re also finding the show notes useful, and you can definitely count on us for each episode to include these. If you’re ever have any other questions please let me know and I will be more than happy to answer these. Thanks ☺️
Thanks so much for this list of valuable resources. I’m not sure it’s helped with my procrastination, as I’ve spent the last 4 hours researching your suggestions, but hoping the benefits will materialize in the future ;-)
Hey Nat, thanks for getting in touch and for your feedback on the Honest Designers Show.
The podcast is featured under the Learn Section of our website, which encompasses tutorials, the podcast and The Creative Journey vlog. Thank you for flagging with us that the header on this section says Tutorials instead of Learn. We have addressed this and we are in the progress of changing it to Learn.
The easiest way of finding all of the podcast episodes is by clicking the Select Category drop-down menu and choosing the Honest Designers Podcast. I hope this helps ?
I love the podcast, it really makes me motivated to do more :)
The only gripe I have is could you make it easier to find the show notes, please? I listen in iTunes and until recently was struggling to find the show notes as it’s not obvious to find them. Having it listed in tutorials doesn’t make sense as it’s not really a tutorial.
Hey Joanie, I’m so happy to hear that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the Honest Designers Show and you’ve also got some great tips from it.
Thanks so much for sharing the information on Wave Apps with us – it sounds great. I will pass this over to our hosts ?
Thanks Julie, just seeing this. Great tips, and will def be trying. Appreciate your wisdom as always :).
Great episode as always! So many fantastic tips and tools, and some I already have but have forgotten about.
I wanted to share an accounting app a developer friend told me about, it’s from a Canadian company, called Wave Apps.
I’ve tried loads of paid accounting software like Clear Books and Fresh Books, but Wave is quicker and simpler to use, has a nice interface and it amazingly, really is free. Seems their business model is earning a bit of commission on credit card payments when invoices are paid by card. I don’t use the credit card system, clients pay by bank transfer – still it’s free.
So fast for invoicing and getting paid and saves me sooooo much admin I tell everyone!
Although not a perfect solution, Tom might be slightly less frustrated with finding fonts in Photoshop by using the available filtering options (class, Typekit, favorite, similar).
For example, if only using 50 or so on a regular basis… favorite those fonts by clicking the star next to each > click the star at the top of the font panel and your list will only show favorites :)
In addition, I have my own DIY system where instead of installing a bajillion fonts… I created folders/subfolders/categories of all my fonts and then drop them into C:Program FilesCommon FilesAdobeFonts as needed (can’t remember the exact path for Macs).
Adobe will recognize them on the fly without my having to restart any programs and they are not actually installed. Although I don’t have this issue, the non-installation aspect can be really helpful for those with lower spec/older systems.
Such useful tips! Even just sorting and listing those top 50 fonts somewhere is handy. If there isn’t one, I’d love a n app that will let me print a sample of those favourite 50 too.
Did Tom ever try using and filtering on favorites to shorten his font list?
Hey Anne, you’re very welcome and I hope you’ll find these very useful in the long term. Thanks for listening ?
Hey Julie, thanks so much for sharing this very useful information. I’ve already picked this up from your Facebook post and shared it with Tom for him to digest when he’s back. Many thanks ?