My Design Geek Gift Guide
I can’t believe how fast 2021 has whirled by, though I’m also fairly certain that 2020 was roughly 57 years ago. But once again, ‘tis the season to light candles, deck halls, jingle bells, and give gifts to your loved ones. And if your loved ones happen to include a design lover or two (you’re reading this, so that seems like a safe assumption), here is my official Design Geek Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Winter Solstice List.
Hues & Cues Board Game
Color nerds, rejoice! If you could never dream of citing your favorite color as simply “blue,” rather than “ultramarine” or “Uranian blue,” this one’s for you. My sister gave me this for Christmas last year and I love it! You have to get people to guess your color using a few descriptive words. I have learned that I don’t actually know for sure what orange marmalade looks like and that Barney the dinosaur is a very different color than I thought (magenta?!)!
Type Trumps Card Game
First, rest assured this game has nothing to do with a certain real estate tycoon/reality television personality (we’ll pretend that other job didn’t happen). Moving on. Courier favor with your typography-loving friends with this card game that tests your knowledge of famous fonts. Get it? Courier favor?
Pantone Lifestyle Goods
Pantone is a brand that is near and dear to all designers’ hearts. The annual announcement of the Pantone color (or colors) of the year is more exciting than seeing who People will name their Sexiest Man Alive (Paul Rudd was an excellent choice). Pantone creates the color guides we use to make sure brand colors are consistent and accurate across different production mediums. They are so well-loved that they have all kinds of goodies that mimic their famous color swatches. Might I recommend the hip flask or to go cup?
Photo credit: https://medium.com/@hannak/design-is-a-job-a-summary-in-742-words-b77484471349
Design is a Job
This is my favorite book written about design ever. Mike Monteiro writes about how the business of design is just as important as the craft. It’s a great read for anyone practicing design, whether they have their own business or not. For design clients, there is also the companion book, You’re My Favorite Client. Hmmm… I wonder if it’s a better gift for someone who actually is your favorite client or one who, ahem, has room for improvement.
In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist's Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector
An honest look behind-the-scenes is so valuable for any lover or practitioner of lettering/design to see. Jessica Hische is one of the greats in the modern lettering world and she graciously shares her sketches and design process for us to learn from. Bonus, if your lettering-loving pal has young kids, Hische has written and illustrated two gorgeous children’s books: “Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave” and “Tomorrow I’ll Be Kind.” She’s also designed a handful of recognizable typefaces, including the font Tilda for “Moonrise Kingdom,” the 2012 film by Wes Anderson, modern directing god to the lovers of the cinematic aesthetic.
1970 New York City Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual
The design geekiest of us love looking under the hood of a well-known brand. The best way to do that is looking at a graphics standard manual, also known at the brand guide or brand bible. Recently, different folks have been issuing reprints of well-known graphics manuals – in addition to the NYC Transit Authority, there are also ones for NASA and the EPA.
Membership: Unofficial Hand Lettering Society of Silver Spring
Show your (or my, you can support from afar!) local lettering society some love by supporting us on Patreon in honor of your design geek friend. If you support at the $6 level for 4 months ($24 total), you’ll get our tote bag, club pin and a membership card as a thank you! You can also make plans with your favorite lettering lover to join us for one of our free monthly doodle sessions on Zoom!
Custom Typewritten Note Candle
Design geeks love type and we love old fashioned analog tech for making it, like the trusty typewriter! My dear pal Amina at Handmade Habitat makes these amazing candle gifts where you can have a custom typewritten message on the label. Extra points if the text involves a design quote of any kind! Here’s a favorite of mine: “It’s through mistakes that you actually can grow. You have to get bad in order to get good.” - Paula Scher
Typographic Inspirational Pendants
Art that features type is a great addition to your favorite designer’s office or creative nook. These pendants remind me how impactful it is to keep a design simple and to the point. Plus, Rayo & Honey has so many powerful messages to choose from – I love them all!
CHANGE MAKER OF THE MONTH
This month, I’m spotlighting and backing The Black Experience in Design is Past, Present, and Future on Kickstarter. This book will present the work of six editors and over 70 designers, artists, curators, educators, students, and researchers who represent a wide cross-section of Black diasporic identities and multi-disciplinary practices.