9 Essential Tools Every Freelance Graphic Designer Needs

And why you need all of them.

Designers have a way to overcomplicate their lives sometimes. Not knowing where to start. Not knowing what is essential. It can be overwhelming to think about everything needed to “complete the kit” so to speak. Knowing the right tools that are essential to completing their work, can create a huge improvement on productivity, efficiency, and essentiality. That it why I have compiled a list of 9 essential tools every graphic designer needs.

1. Notebook

Every great idea or concept always first started on a piece of paper. Having your go-to sketchbook can be as inviting as a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning.

Moleskine or Field Notes will do you no wrong.

2. Writing Utensil

What’s a good notebook with lines or grids to have without having a solid writing utensil to accompany it? It’s like peanut butter and jelly, batman and robin, one can’t be without the other.

3. Computer

Once you have all concepts and ideas down on a piece of paper, you’re going to want to transfer them over to the computer where you can create scalable files and save all your documents somewhere.

What other than an Apple Macbook Pro could I recommend? (if you got the money to dish out: try this )

4. Glasses

While you’re at your computer, which is probably more these days, you’re going to want to protect your eyes. Investing in some solid blue-light glasses will help your eyes out in the long run. You’ll come back to this article in years and write a comment saying, “Thank you Alex ??”

Warby Parker or Bonlook are some good places to start.

5. Software

In order to be able to create beautifully designed files, you will need software that will get you there. The most obvious one would be the Adobe Creative Suite which includes programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign to name a few. Other free software such as Figma, and Webflow can help you get started in UX design and Web design respectively.

Adobe CC, Figma, Webflow.

6. External Hard Drive

Backup, backup, backup. If there is one lesson to learn from this entire article, its this: it is essential to backup all your files to a hard drive that is NOT your computer. Please. Do it for me. It’ll save you thousands of dollars in aggravated loss of hours of work. (Totally not speaking from experience.)

You probably see these orange boxes in every youtube video these days.

7. Backpack

You’ll need something to carry around your mobile workstation around all day. Invest in a good backpack with comfortable padding and good straps that won’t wear out quickly. Your spine will thank you for making the investment.

You have tons of options in this department. I would do a lot of research before choosing your preference, and what’s right for you.

8. Desk

Since we’re all quarantining with our at-home offices, it is vital we create a dedicated space in our houses in order to separate our work from our living. Purchasing a good quality desk is the right move to make when establishing boundaries for your work. I recommend a desk with an adjustable height as you want to be changing positions throughout the day to maintain good posture and it is proven you burn more calories by standing*.

Ergonofis will take care of all your desk needs.

9. Chair

Of course along with every desk you need a good chair. We use the word “ergonomic” when it comes to finding the right chair, and righty so. We need to know that the chair will support our weight as well as support our spines. Companies like Autonomous and Fully are creating wonderful chairs which are well worth the price you pay, if you care for your body.

I can assure you, if you take care of your tools, your tools will take care of you. In this case, investing in these items will help increase your productivity, which can in turn help you get where you need to go faster. Whether it be creating an illustration, building a website, designing a new product, you will find your workflow much easier with a few simple changes.

Afterword

If you’ve made it this far. Thank you.

It’s just the life of an everyday graphic designer, sharing his thoughts. So I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read about someone else. Just goes to show how caring you are.

If you feel like this resonates with you or helps you in any way, let me know by hitting the “love” button, leaving a comment, and sharing with someone who might benefit from it!

If you want to follow me around like a creep (just kidding) you can catch me on Instagram, Twitter, Behance, LinkedIn, and Dribbble.

I am a freelance graphic design based out of Barrie, ON — check out my website: alexpresa.studio