Do you have a creative friend who is always working, designing, sketching or prototyping? We do. And we always face the headache: What to give them as a present? Every Christmas and every birthday the problem arises – What to give to a person who has a heightened sense of beauty and knows all the subtleties of a perfect gift?
The next birthday is coming up soon so we’ve decided to make some research and share it with you. We have prepared a list of unique and cool gift ideas for graphic designers, from which their eyes will shine and knees will tremble. Let’s look at the gift list for graphic designers!
Drawing tablet for designer
A drawing tablet is a must-have for every modern designer, artist and creative person. It’s more convenient to draw with a hand than using a computer mouse. Tablet for art and design simplifies the process and improves the quality of the work. It’s perfect for both professional and private use. Drawing tablets are easy to connect with Windows and Mac OS, displaying on the monitor what you painted. You can choose a compact and lightweight tablet with a large screen. There are special types of graphic tablets, both for amateurs and professionals. When choosing the tablet, keep in mind the skills of your designer friend to pick the right gift.
Laptop Stand for designer
Designers work all the time with demanding schedules.After a long day of work, many of them still continue working on a sofa. It’s important not to allow the laptop to overheat and work in a comfortable position without straining the eyes, neck and shoulders. A laptop stand is easy to use, lightweight, portable and will be useful to every traveling designer. It won’t only improve the posture of your hard-working creative friends, but also save the laptop from accidentally spilled coffee. However, a creative person needs a creative present. Go for a stand with an original design and surprise your friend.
SSDs or external hard drive for designer
This gift is a great option, as designers always need to store a huge amount of data and eventually get a new external drive. The main advantages are compactness, the ability to disconnect from the device quickly and the capacity. A hard disk or SSD allows to store more and larger files, but it’s also portable, so your friend can carry it anywhere and connect to other devices. It’s convenient, if your friend changes PCs and Mac computers regularly.
Light screen for designer
To work professionally with graphics, you need a cool monitor. It should not only be beautiful, but also able to display high-definition content. You can choose one of many great displays made for designers. Graphic design professionals are interested in ultra-high resolution, accurate color reproduction from any angle and easy control of all functions. It’s one of the best presents for designers!
Creative USB hub for designer
A USB hub is a necessary thing for anyone working with computers. Unusual USB hubs create an optimistic mood with their cheerful appearance. This ordinary thing can be a super cool and funny gift for a small price. A USB hub in the shape of a chocolate bar or any other tasty or funny form will definitely tune the designer’s creative mood.
Unique computer mouse for designer
Your designer friend will certainly appreciate such a gift as designers love ordinary things with twisted design. This specific computer mouse imitates a pen and helps in muscle tension reduction in the forearm, wrist and fingers, a problem often spread among creative professionals.
Color guides for designer
Graphic design is first of all work with color and its correct transmission. You can find various color systems with a color chart to better understand and communicate with the customer. Moreover, such a great professional thing adds coolness to the designer! One of the most popular color systems is sold by Pantone. Before you buy it, however, make sure your friend doesn’t have one already! If he or she works at a design studio, it’s probable that they won’t need an extra color system.
Sketchbook for designer
Another name for a sketchbook is a pocket album. This is the designers’ personal space to express themselves freely like in a diary. Very often designers do their first sketches in their pocket albums and only transfer the best one into a computer screen. Thanks to it being a book, the drawings won’t get lost and will be all in one place to come back to. That’s a very good surprise for your friend! Don’t confuse sketchbooks with notebooks though. While notebooks (read about them below) are great for anything, sketchbooks are dedicated to drawing and painting as their paper is a lot thicker and has a different texture.
Notebook for designers
Although everyone thinks that modern designers make the notes in their gadgets, many sketches and plans are written only on paper. A notebook is a holy thing for many creative people. Designers like compact things! Beautiful notebooks are something without which they cannot live. They are very convenient and necessary in the work of graphic designer to write the best ideas or notes about the design process. Most designers love to change their notebooks, trying to write and draw in different ones constantly. They value functional and minimalist things, but with their own character and personality.
If you want to make your notebook gift extra special, add a unique engraving to it.
Markers for designer
A marker set is a convenient and necessary tool for creating not only sketches, but also a variety of illustrations. When choosing a marker set for your friend, consider factors such as a rich choice of color palette, the quality of the pattern and the ability to work with various surfaces.
3D pen for designer
No designer would mind playing with this gadget, because it’s just so interesting! A 3D pen is a tool that can draw in the air. Imagine that your friend will be able to draw not on paper, but in the air! If we think that the source of creativity is the man himself, then the 3D pen is just a high-tech tool that makes it possible to bring more beauty into the world.
Massager or massage mat for designer
Massage things are a dream of any designer (as well as any other office employee). You know that the designers’ work is sit-down and behind a computer.After a completed project, their whole body can hurt. A massager or a massage mat will make them feel rested and full of energy. Your friend will definitely be grateful!
Finger trainer for designer
This is usually used by climbers, but a person who spends a lot of time on the computer also needs to exercise fingers. Finger trainer is perfect for rehabilitation and finger exercises, but it’s also a great gift for those who always need to play with something, like fidget spinners.
Anti-stress toy for designer
Stress and hard situations occur in everyone’s life, even among designers! This gift will allow your friend to relax and pet his soft friend. Anti-stress toys are easily and very pleasantly compressed and then returned to their initial shape. That’s how the anti-stress effect is created. Designers don’t want to let it out of their hands. They are made in the form of animals, cubes, balls, spinners, pillows, etc. Therefore, it will be very easy to choose an anti-stress toy matching your friend’s personality. There is even an anti-stress pen for business people who will not want to play with a cute soft animals.
Under-desk hammock for designer
For feet not to get too uncomfortable during a long work day, they can be put on a comfortable hammock attached to the desk. Your friend will be able to sit even longer, without getting distracted from the project. The designer will put his feet on the hammock right under his desk and will no longer have to borrow his colleagues’ chairs. Also, the hammock can be regulated to any height.
Literature for designer
Books with beautiful illustrations are a perfect gift for graphic designers. You can present a very beautiful book about Erte artworks for lovers of art deco and vintage styles. This book contains illustrations and photographs of the famous magnificent artist on the topics of graphics, bronze and jewelry. There is even a special gift edition weighing 2.5 kg. Every designer is a connoisseur of beauty, who cares about aesthetics, art and everything unique.
You can give your friend a book by Michael Beirut “Now You See It and Other Essays on Design”. The author is a legend in the graphic design world. He ponders about fonts and color, design directions, relations with customers, etc. It is written in a simple language and with a good sense of humor.
A book by Stephen Heller and Seymour Chwast “Evolution of Graphic Style: From Victorian to Hipster”. The authors bring the reader’s attention to the formal and visual characteristics of the design periods and put emphasis on the objects of their study (artworks) instead of on their creators (artists).
A book for graphic designers by Paul Rand “Design, Form and Chaos.” The author discusses the specifics of creative processes and the professional passion that drives growth to good design.
There are books on design that will never become old. A book “A Life in Illustration” by Gestalten is perfect for a designer who already has everything in his or her life! Although he or she might have already seen it online, it’s always a lot nicer to touch and feel a beautifully printed album and artworks. This gift is one of those items “I want it, but I can’t buy it for myself”. Everyone wants a collection of design albums but almost no one buys it for themselves.
Designer interior items
Everyone knows that the work of a graphic designer is very creative and requires well-developed creative abilities. However, even if you are a genius, from time to time you can face a creative crisis. So where do designers find inspiration? In fact, everywhere- in beautiful interiors, nature, art… That is why designers are fond of creative gifts. So, you can present your friend the following souvenirs:
Creative cups for designer
In this case, the cup is transformed into a real artistic object or canvas, endowed with another function! Sometimes, familiar and understandable things are not for designers. Creative people often move in an alternative direction, expand their horizons and literally turn everything inside out. So, they want to add more creativity to their lives! Designers constantly turn on the “what will happen if…” curiosity mode and do experiments, almost like children. The unusual design of cups, like a chameleon mug, will also suit their taste. Imagine the inspiration coming with a morning coffee! Besides cups, it can be a collection of several cups, an unusual set of designer plates, spoons and even knives.
Holders for books for designer
You can please your designer friend or colleague with an original holder for books in the style of modern design trends so that the books present themselves beautifully and stand comfortably on the table. All designers like creative solutions, so you can even choose vintage book holders that will create an aristocratic atmosphere in the room.But if your friend likes minimalism and technology, you can give preference to modern high-tech solutions,. The choice of book holders is very wide, considering both size and style. We believe that this gift will truly surprise your friend, who appreciates the beauty and quality!
Desk lamp for designer
Many designers who work at their desk don’t have good enough lighting. You can fix it! However, the desk lamp is not only a functional item, but also a decorative one. If you know well the interior of the room of the person for whom the gift is intended, then you will be able to choose a lamp that will harmonize perfectly with the room design. A stylish table lamp, selected to suit your friend’s taste, will surely please him or her. There are so many different styles of table lamps: baroque, country, modern, retro, minimalism, classic or loft. The combination of style, material and brand are also very important to consider. Maybe your friend is a fan of a certain company, chooses only metal ceiling lamps and enjoys high-tech? At the same time, you know that designers are pragmatic people, therefore adjusting the height and position of the lamp are also important factors.
Desk accessories for designer
Scientists have proven that order on the desk affects your productivity. A person loses an hour per day due to disorganization. And, of course, the designer gets very annoyed when he or she cannot find something quickly…. An organizer is a cool gift for everyone who has a desk. Small items will not get lost and business cards, pens and pencils will always be right there. An organizer is definitely a stylish and useful solution for designers.
Creative calendar for designer
Creative calendar. An original gift and a great way to surprise your friends designers with a non-standard approach to the choice of gifts. Such a gift will surely be remembered. Thanks to creative design, the calendar can be used not only as a regular tool for counting days and months, but also as a stylish interior detail.
Keychains for designer
This is a funny gift with subtle hints for your creative colleagues and friends. Make a little surprise and cheer them up! There are creative keychains for Adobe XD fans with icons of different software programs like Adobe InDesign, Visual Studio, AutoCAD, Adobe After Effects. Order them and show your creative friends that you support them!
Ticket for a professional conference or tour for designer
You know your friends better, so it will be good to ask openly if they would like to take some kind of professional courses, creative workshops or attend conferences. They may have been dreaming of taking a particular course, but they lack financial resources or motivation… You can help them to make this dream a reality and get closer to their goals.. Another idea is to make a trip to famous museums or go on a design tour, visit legendary design studios and talk with their founders.
Do you have designer friends? Have you already chosen what to give them? We hope our tips will help you make one more designer a little bit happier!
Besides having grown up in the design Industry, Christiaan has advised some of the world’s largest companies on their branding & packaging designs. Has been the resident judge for design awards, and has spoken at numerous global design & marketing events. Christiaan founded the London office of the award-winning Cartils agency, and has founded the DesignBro.com platform.
