Graphic design is a very
broad and diverse creative discipline. To develop your design ideas and bring
it all to life, you will need a variety of equipment. For this, I am going to
list the various equipment into two categories; essentials and accessories. The
essentials are equipment I would recommend any designer as must haves and the
accessories are what you can use depending on your choice.
So, the first, essential
equipment I use and recommend is drawing equipment. For this, I would recommend
a range of graphic pencils and a range of drawing markers. These are the basic
drawing tools you will need and I use during the design process; sketching,
drawing scamps, developing ideas, or drawing storyboards. So, I use the
Staedtler Mars micro graphic pencil and I have both the 0.3 and the 0.5-millimeter
range. To develop scamps and develop my ideas, I typically use the graphic
pencil to lay down light sketches, and then, draw over these with a range of
markers. To draw over my initial sketches, I use a range of black markers in
various weights to create and communicate dynamics in my sketches. The markers
I use are Staedtler with their range of Lumo black permanent markers. I find
these really easy to work with and they come in a range of super fine, fine,
medium, and bold. The ink is good quality and the tips are good quality and are
really nice to draw with.
Next, I recommend you
get some color pens. For this, I would recommend a set of colored Fine liners and
a range of graphic markers, preferably with the three-tip ends for various tip
strokes. I use Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens. I find these really easy to
draw with, with vibrant colors. I use these to add color to my sketches and
scamps. For more rich full-color shading, I use Letraset Promarkers. Now, these
can be quite expensive. I generally buy them one at a time by color. Chances
are you're not going to need every color. To start, you could consider buying a
small pack with some common colors. So, to keep all my drawing equipment
together, I use a pen case. I use this Staedtler case which actually comes with
the Fineliner set. This is a lightweight case which you can roll up and keep
all your additional drawing equipment in. It's neat and compact and I generally
keep this on me at all times.
Next, I recommend you
get some Tipex. I find this helps correct and refine my scamps. I use this
Pentel Micro. This one is great as it has a needle tip, so you can apply it in
a nice controlled way. So that's some drawing equipment I use.
So next, I would
recommend a range of graphic layout paper. Now, graphic layout paper is great
to develop ideas and is my favorite medium to work on. For this, I use and
would recommend a Goldline Layout Pad A4 or A3. This layout paper is
lightweight, you get a lot of sheets, and it's semi-opaque, which means you can
use it to trace. I usually sketch out my ideas and compositions, and trace over
them to refine and clear up a design, which I will often scan into the
computer. When drawing more technical subjects, like typography and geographic
shapes and designs, I use a range of grid layer paper.
Next, I recommend you
get some foldback clips in various sizes. I find these mega useful and I carry
them around with me. As you develop ideas on paper and gather research, you
will soon build up lots of paper. These clips are great for keeping your work
in order and allow you to be flexible to rearrange your work and add to it.
Next, Post-it notes and
sticky neon indexing bookmark tabs. So, a pretty obvious one, but I find these
really useful, not only for taking notes, but when looking through books and
research material. These can be really handy to bookmark your references.
Next, I would recommend
you get a scrapbook folder. To me, this is really important. As you collect
inspiration material, you're going to need somewhere to keep it all for future
reference. For this, I use an A3 earthbound portfolio where I place all my
found objects. This keeps them all together in one place. I also use the
foldback clips here, too, to organize my collections into various categories.
Next, you will need a
scalpel, metal ruler, and a cutting mat. Now, I find myself always printing and
cutting things out, whether it's for presentations or doing development. I use
the Swann Morton number three stainless steel scalpel handle with 10A
replacement blades. I use a Wescott stainless steel ruler and a Am-Tech A3 cutting
mat.
Next, I recommend you
get a suitable camera. Now chances are you will have a camera on your
smartphone, which is great because you will always have it on you everywhere
you go. If not, any digital camera will do. This is an essential bit of kit I
use to take pictures of inspiration or reference in the field to add to my
scrapbook.
Next, job folders. As I
develop research and design ideas, I like to keep it all in its own job folder.
This is also good to keep everything grouped up when a project is done. For
this, I generally use clear plastic A3 cases and file those away.
So, the final piece of
essential kit I recommend you get, which is a pretty important part these days,
is an adequate computer. Now, a lot of people ask me what's best, a PC or a
Mac? Well, today, they are both great to work on and the software tools run the
same way on both, so this really comes down to your choice. Here, I would
recommend you get whatever feels most comfortable to you. But what you need to
be sure of is that whatever computer you get, make sure it has an adequate
specification to run your creative software, enough RAM with a good CPU. Personally,
I use a Mac, but that's my personal preference. So, once you have your
computer, you will need the creative software tools. Currently, I'm signed up
to Adobe Creative Cloud.
So next is my
accessories list. These are additional tools and equipment I use and would
recommend, but they're not as vital as the essentials. So, for this, I would
recommend a project folder or case. Now, I have one very similar to this one
here in A3. I find this really useful to keep all my project work in, where
it's all compact in one place. These are also really great for students. You
should be able to carry everything you need in one of these when you attend a
class; your pads, your drawing equipment, and so on. This is great to carry it
all in.
Next, I would recommend
highlighters. Now, I'm obsessed with making lists. To get things done, I make
lists and I always have an orange highlighter to mark off what I've done. Feels
so good to mark things off, so if you're like me and you like making lists, I
recommend you get some of these.
Next, I would recommend
a scanner and printer. Now, I tend to work a lot with my drawings and sketches.
To get these onto computer, I use a Canon CanoScan. This is a lightweight
USB-powered scanner. Over the years, I have had a range of printers, but right
now, I'm using the A4 Canon PIXMA iP7250 color wireless inkjet printer. This is
really neat with a compact design, takes individual ink cartridges, and prints
borderless. This range is also available up to A3 plus. Now, if you find
yourself printing large documents, I recommend you get a telescopic transport
tube. I used one of these to store and transport large prints.
Next, I would recommend
you get a graphics tablet. Now, some may argue that this is an essential piece
of kit for a graphic designer. Personally, I don't use my tablet all that much.
I generally only use mine when I'm doing some retouching in Photoshop or
digital drawing or painting in Illustrator. When doing a task like this, I find
the job is much more comfortable and natural using a graphics tablet. I'm
currently using a Wacom tablet.
So next, you can
consider getting a color calibrator for your monitor or monitors. Now, these
are amazing for calibrating your monitor to get more accurate color profiles, especially
if you're doing work for print. For this, you could use the Spyder4 PRO
Advanced. If you have multiple monitors connected to your computer, this can
calibrate them all. So, the last thing I'd recommend you get is a random crafts
box. Now, every designer should have one of these and make sure it's full of
all other stationary equipment you would use, such as masking tape, double-sided
sticky tape, a range of glues, paints, brushes, and so on, all of which come in
handy during to the course of a creative project. So that is some of the
equipment I use and would recommend you acquire, which will help you with your
design process.
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
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