Over the past few years of writing for this blog I’ve shared a number of posts about the tools I use. It’s something I like to revisit semi regularly to see how what I’m using has changed and what has endured. In previous posts I’ve separated out the physical and digital tools I use, but that’s not how I work. So, for this year’s edition I wanted to talk about my toolkit in its entirety from pens and pencils to apps and skills.
Digital
Procreate
When I first invested in my iPad, Procreate was the only drawing tool I used. It’s super simple to pick up and wonderful to draw with. It’s my favourite digital sketching tool still. It feels like a safe space to play around. It’s what I use for first drafts and ideas. Plus, if you see anything on my Instagram you can almost guarantee I made it in Procreate.
Affinity Designer
Affinity has been my number one for a good while now. I love it on Desktop and now I love it on iPad too. I’ve done a full and gushing review on Affinity already so I’m not going to repeat myself here. But suffice to say that there’s a reason it’s my desert island digital creative tool. There’s nothing I need to do that I can’t handle (I’ve even found workarounds for mock ups) using it and it’s an absolute joy to work with, especially on iPad where you have the added wonders of the apple pencil. Although, I will say I’ve been having some issues with pressure sensitivity recently.
GoogleDocs
I was slow to embrace the GSuite. But the more I use it (despite my fears about giving up more of my data) the more useful it becomes in terms of organising files to share with clients, working on documents between devices and conditional formatting my life away in sheets. I’ve even found a way to format offline sheets well enough that I no longer use QuickBooks to manage my accounts.
Buffer
I realised in my blogging reflections piece when I hit the two year mark here that I needed to take social media more seriously. I’ve been trying to have a more structured approach to how I share my work and to be more consistent it. A big part of that change has been moving to Buffer. In the past I’ve used Hootsuite. There was nothing wrong with Hootsuite but I wanted a social tool that worked with Pinterest because that’s where I have the most reach. A year and a bit in and it’s still such an easy tool to use, I can queue up all of my posts for a week in less than half an hour, which has probably been the only reason I’ve stayed consistent on social media.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp looks after my newsletter. It’s so good I have very little to say about it. By that I mean it fits so seamlessly in my workflow that I almost forgot I use it.
Semplice / WordPress
Towards the end of last year I redesigned my portfolio using Semplice. It was such a liberating experience to move away from the constraints of Squarespace and have almost complete control. I say almost because it doesn’t quite have the blogging control I would like just yet. While Squarespace was gorgeous and simple, I’m enjoying how empowering it feels to run both of my sites myself through a combination of Semplice and WordPress.
Physical
iPad and pencil
By far and away the tool I use the most when illustrating is my iPad. I have a refurbished 1st generation iPad Pro which I bought back in 2017 and to say that it’s revolutionised how I work would be an understatement. It’s such a pleasure to draw with and having taking the step up from a wacom bamboo where I had to look at the screen rather than what I was drawing I can really feel the benefit. I use the paperlike cover on mine, which means it’s not as great for watching Netflix with but it does give just the right level of texture for drawing.
iMac
I ummed and ahhed over either getting a new macbook or an iMac at the start of last year. As I don’t work outside of the house that much on my own projects and was actually looking forward to the idea of not having my work being able to follow me where I went, I went with the iMac. I love having the bigger screen and better processing power. Plus I think my body is grateful for my more ergonomic set up. It’s not revolutionary but it is great to use, other than charging the mouse which is some of Apple’s worst design work to date.
Rhodia Webby Notebook
I’ve been using Rhodia notebooks as bullet journals for coming up to 7 years now. If that’s not a consistent favourite I don’t know what is. For me, it’s all about the paper. It’s so smooth. There’s no bleed through, there’s no feathering. It is a pleasure to write on, and I don’t say that lightly. Also, dot grid paper is the only way to go. It allows you to line up your writing whilst giving you plenty of freedom and still leaving the page mainly free compared to squared pages. Plus I love that it’s orange! I can almost always spot it across the office, and everyone knows which one is mine. The soft touch hardcover wears really well and is always easy to spot in the office. It’s also worth noting the elastic fastener, ribbon and back pocket are all properly sturdy as well. I picked up a landscape version for sketching recently, moving away from Moleskine, and I’m so pleased I did because it’s the only sketchpad I’ve used where I take it everywhere with me because it’s just a great notepad too.
Rotring 300 Mechanical Pencil
I’ve been using the Rotring 300 in 0.5mm for three years now. And you know what, I wouldn’t be without it. It’s comfortable to hold and to draw with. The even with of line really suits my style now and works particularly well if I’m writing or doing thumbnail sketches which is actually a lot of what I do. I originally wanted to have one for sketching and one with a coloured lead, but now I’m happy with only using a 2B.
Pilot VBall 0.5
There’s nothing too special about this pen. It just writes really nicely. I have it in black, blue, red, pink, purple, green and turquoise, but I mainly just use the black ones. It’s smooth and comes out with a good even deep black line. 0.5 is the perfect width for the size of my handwriting and the size of the dot grid – and is clearly the only size I like because it’s what I have my pencils in too.
Sharpie
I don’t think there are any service designers who don’t carry at least 3 of these about their person at any one time.
Pentel Signpen
These are my favourite felt pens. You can vary the width you’re using without the nib being too brushlike if that makes sense.
Promarker
I don’t use these as often as I would like, mainly because I’m never as into colour as I imagine I will be. But if I’m ever sketching ideas out and need to add a pop or wash of colour I use these. I have the double sided fine and chisel nibs (because those were the ones that were on offer when I was looking for pens) in yellow and red, as well as light washes of blue, pink and green.
Post-it Notes
I wrote a whole design stories piece on post-it notes because they’re that formative in my research and design practice. Participants often joke about quite how many we go through in workshops, but there’s nothing better for quickly gathering, making visible, and organising ideas when you’re working together. They’re also a great tool for organising yourself – I use them to keep track of everything from my big projects and their deadlines to my shopping lists.
Washi tape
Washi tape isn’t a necessity for me, but it’s the one pop of aesthetic flare in my otherwise very plain bullet journal.
Canon Autoboy
I bought a Canon Autoboy at the start of last year as a way to try to encourage myself to take more photos. While I’m still not a pro by any stretch of the imagination, I love getting my rolls of film back and I’m trying more and more to incorporate these snapshots into my work.
Human
Design research
This is what I do almost everyday when I head into the office, or more likely out into the field. I do a mix of interviews, mapping exercises, ethnography and user testing to understand the context that a service sits in within someone’s life, what they need it to do and how to make those two things work in a way that’s accessible.
Service design
I’ve only recently started to consider myself a service designer. But bringing together my design research practice, visualisation skills, codesign experience and more strategy work it’s something that’s come along naturally.
Illustration
I just like to draw and for those drawings to convey a message.
Sketchnoting
I use sketchnoting as both a toll to help me organise and remember my thoughts but also as really engaging research outputs.
Animation
I’m never going to be hired by Pixar but I am using animation and short gifs more and more in my work as a way to convey more tone or narrative in a single space.
Visual facilitation
I’m trying to use my illustration knowhow as a way to do workshops and help people communicate. I’m hoping this one’s going to get further up the list next year!
Writing
I’m certainly more of a rambler than a writer, but as someone who’s written hundreds of thousands of words worth of blog posts, newsletters and reports, I have to acknowledge it’s a tool I use and rely on. It’s one I need to work on sharpening, but I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without it.
Things that make it happen
I consider all of the stuff above my real job. But there are a whole raft of tools I rely on in order to be able to do those from creating and understanding contracts to doing my own finances to managing projects whether that’s for myself or for other people. There are so many “soft” interpersonal skills too. Those are the things that are often the most hard won and the most used, but also the most likely to be overlooked. As I guess they are in this list, by way of being at the bottom. Without soft skills you don’t get to use any of the others to their full extent.
