It’s that time a year again when the malls are overcrowded and family stays for way too long. That’s right it’s Christmas time. Just because old Saint Nick is coming down the chimney with gifts for all the boys and girls, it doesn’t mean that you can’t steal the spotlight and give your favorite designer an amazing Christmas gift.
With our list of the Best Christmas Gifts for Designers, we hope to make buying a great gift so much easier. Knowing how to choose the right gift though can take some consideration first. To help, we wanted to share some tips on how to pick the perfect gift.
See here for last year’s top gifts for designers and more unique gift ideas.
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How to Pick the Perfect Gift
Now we know that some people will tell you that they don’t need anything this year for Christmas. For some, that may be true. While we don’t necessarily believe that, finding the perfect gift, even when they “say” they don’t want anything takes a little research on your part.
Look at the past
A great way to pick the perfect gift is to look at what might have happened in that person’s life in the last year. Maybe they graduated from college this year and you could frame their diploma. Or maybe they started their own business and could use a little help with a piece of tech that could put their business over the top. Events in someone’s life are a great way to find gift ideas.
Ask yourself what they might need
Even if they tell you that they don’t need anything or can’t think of anything that they might want for Christmas, it can help to think broader when searching for a great gift. In the case of someone who runs their own business, the greatest gift they could ever receive is more time. Unless you’re a Time Lord, that’s going to be a hard gift to give. However, there are so many devices out there that can help people run their lives more efficiently. Thinking about what to give someone on a general level can help you see more options.
Do a little light stalking
Now, we don’t mean park a van across the street from their house or anything like that. Many people have wishlists on Amazon and if you just happened to buy them something that was on that list, they will be truly surprised. You can check Facebook or other social media for clues if they’ve liked certain products or made comments about how getting a particular item would make life easier.
The Best Christmas Gifts for Designers
- Apple iMac Pro – $4599
- Skyroam Solis X – $179
- Bose SoundSport Free Headphones – $169
- Field Notes Project Kit – $10
- Huion H420 USB Graphics Drawing Tablet Board Kit – $23
- Drew: The Man Behind The Poster – $18
- Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription – $52
- Apple Watch Series 5 – $404
- Branding: In Five and a Half Steps by Michael Johnson – $42
- Apple iPhone 11 – $999
And more…
- Sinstar 8 in 1 Aluminum Multi-Port – $59
- Huion L4S Light Pad – $35
- Bose QuietComfort 35 II Wireless Headphones – $279
- Logitech MX Master 2s – $155
- Microsoft Surface Book 2 – $2198
The Best Gifts For Designers
Apple iMac Pro
The Best Gift If Money is No Object
CPU: 10-18 core Intel Xeon W | Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 – Vega 64 | RAM: 32GB – 128GB | Storage: 1TB – 4TB SSD | Display: 27-inch 5K (5,120 x 2,880) Retina display
If your goal this Christmas is to be remembered for the best gift ever given, you should think about giving your favorite graphic designer the iMac Pro from Apple. Not only is it the most powerful Mac released, but it’s also specifically designed with professionals in mind. While for some it might be out of their gift price range, trust us, getting this for Christmas can make up for the years of bad gifts you might have given.
See here for more top computers for designers.
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- 27-Inch (diagonal) Retina 5K display
- 5120-By-2880 resolution with support for one billion colors
- Stunning 5-mm-thin design
- 8-Core Xeon w Processor
- Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics with 8GB of HBM2 Memory
Skyroam Solis X
The Best Gift For Travelers
If you know a designer that travels a lot for work, then it’s a safe bet that they have mentioned how much their data plan costs or how hard finding a good Wi-Fi signal is. The perfect answer is Solis X from Skyroam. Touted as the World’s First Wi-Fi hotspot, for $9 a month, you can have access to a gigabyte of worldwide full speed 4G LTE WiFi. The puck-shaped device comes with an internal battery so you can charge your devices and will quickly become a go-to device.
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- The World’s First Smartspot: Combining fast, secure 4G LTE WiFi in 130 countries, a remote camera, power bank, and integrated smart assistant into one pocket-sized gadget. Connect, post, charge,...
- App Controlled Remote Camera: 8MP wide-angle camera with 720p HD video, auto-focus, and flash. Capture and records photos and videos of the whole group or family without bad selfie angles, or when...
- Built-in 4700 mAh Power Bank: Stay online all day long with 16+ hours of battery life and keep all your gadgets charged on-the-go
- Shareable WiFi and Flexible Plans: Share your WiFi connection with up to 10 devices at once. Flexible data plans allow you to buy service by the Day, Month, of GB. Data starts as low as $6
- Customizable Smart Assistant: Connect and control 1000’s of apps and services with just a tap. Powered by IFTTT, Bluetooth, and GPS
Bose SoundSport Free Headphones
The Best Gift for music lovers
With an innovative design and high-quality tech behind them, the SoundSport Free headphones from Bose are a great combination of style and reliability. Built for everyday use, the SoundSport headphones come with a minimalistic design that fits great in most ears but can provide a loose fit for others. With amazing sound quality that Bose is known for, any graphic designer would love to pop these in and drift into their work listening to their favorite music. If you know a music or even podcast lover, you can’t go wrong with these headphones as a gift.
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- TRULY wireless Sport headphones for total freedom of movement, packed full of technology that makes music sound clear and powerful
- Earbuds are sweat and weather resistant (with an Ipx4 rating) and come with 3 different pairs of Stay hear and Sport tips (in sizes S/M/L) that provide a comfortable and secure fit
- Up to 5 hours of play time with each charge and an additional 10 hours with the included charging case and also features a charging time of 2 hours
- Track lost earbuds with the Bose connect App's "find My buds" feature
- Firmware update to improve Audio video synchronization for customers using iPhones, iPads and other Bluetooth devices that support AVDTP version 1.3 or later, available via connect app. Connectivity...
Field Notes
The best gift for designers who like to get ideas down on paper
Many designers love to get their ideas and design sketches down on paper before working on their computer and more and more, they turn to Field Notes to jot ideas down. For those who do, there is no better gift than Field Notes notebooks for your favorite designer will love using these every day in all kinds of ways with their work. While a three-pack may not last very long, at such an affordable price, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to give more than one as a gift.
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- Plain Paper 48-page memo book
- 3 Books per pack - banded and shrink-wrapped
- Three great memo books worth fillin' up with good information
- Made in the USA
Huion H420 USB Graphics Drawing Tablet Board Kit
The best gift for new designers
Active drawing area: 4 x 2.23in | Resolution: 4000 LPI | Pen pressure sensitivity: 2,048 levels | Connections: Micro USB | OS: Windows or macOS
When you first start as a graphic designer, money can be pretty tough to come by and it can keep you from buying some tech that could make work easier. This is why we think that the H420 from Huion is such a great gift for beginners. It’s compatible with many of the programs that graphic designers already use and also comes packaged with a pen with sensitivity levels that let you draw thick or thin lines quickly and easily. If you know a graphic designer who’s just getting started, this is a great option to help them on their way to running a successful business.
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- Compatible with all major graphics application: including Corel Painter, CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Fireworks, Macromedia Flash, Comic Studio, SAI,Paint tool sai, Infinite...
- Function as the cursor and the board as the screen, when you move the pen to the corner of the board, the cursor on your screen moves to the corner of said screen, etc.
- Pen scrolling – You can scroll documents and Web pages by pressing the middle button of the digital pen over the tablet’s working area. (Compatible with Windows XP/Vista/Win7/8/10 and Mac OS...
- Three express keys - such as close current page, save current page.
- USB interface, Plug & Play- don't need to install external driver, very convenient
Drew: The Man Behind The Poster (DVD)
The best gift for movie lovers
Have you ever seen the movie poster for Harry Potter or Raiders of the Lost Ark? They are both iconic movie posters. Even more amazing is that these are created by one man, Drew Struzan. In this documentary, Struzan’s career is explored from its early beginnings to his retirement and features great interviews with actors and directors such as Michael J Fox, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, and George Lucas. If you know a designer who is also a movie buff, this looks into the man behind some of the most iconic movie posters of all time is an amazing gift.
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- Brand Name: KNV Mfg#: 738329116026
- Shipping Weight: 0.25 lbs
- Manufacturer:
- Genre:
- All music products are properly licensed and guaranteed authentic.
Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription
The best gift for the creative friend
The Adobe Creative Cloud offers some great programs for any designer or artist out there. The problem can be that buying each of the programs that Adobe offers can get quite expensive. This means that you can give a great gift with a Creative Cloud subscription that gives them access to not only Photoshop but also Lightroom, Illustrator, and more. It is an auto-renewing subscription so be sure to tell them that. Having access to all of these great apps from Adobe will not only help them save money but also be productive with their work.
See here Adobe CC discounts
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- Creative Cloud has the design tools to bring your ideas to life, with apps for everything from image compositing and photo editing to website design, digital painting, 3D, and augmented reality
- With Creative Cloud, you have the entire collection of Adobe desktop and mobile apps, from essentials like Photoshop to next generation tools like Adobe XD
- Existing subscribers must first complete current membership term before linking new subscription term
Apple Watch Series 5
The best gift for busy designers
OS: watchOS 6 | Compatibility: iOS | Display: 1.78″ OLED | Processor: Apple S5 | Band sizes: Varies based on watch size | Onboard storage: 32GB | Battery: 1 day to 36 hours | Charging method: Wireless | IP rating: Water-resistant to 50m | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, LTE
While there are many different smartwatch options out there, the Series 5 Watch from Apple is our pick for the best gift you can give a busy designer. With the integration with the iPhone, which many already use, it’s like an extension of an already great product. While there aren’t too many updates from the previous version, having the newest piece of technology on your wrist that can help you respond to text messages, emails or even phone calls can be much better than searching for a phone every single time. If they already own an iPhone, you can’t go wrong with an Apple Watch.
See here for more top smart watches.
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- GPS
- Always-On Retina display
- 30% larger screen
- Swimproof
- ECG app
Branding: In Five and a Half Steps by Michael Johnson
The best gift for a book lover
Michael Johnson is one of the biggest names in graphic design with clients that include Virgin Atlantic, Think London and BFI and has been the recipient of many awards in his field. In Branding, Johnson takes everyday brands and breaks them down to their most basic components to help us understand why we choose one product or service over another. With more than 1,000 illustrations and case studies, anyone who is a book lover or needs help developing branding strategies to help their business should read this book.
See here for more top branding books
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- Thames Hudson
- Hardcover Book
- Johnson, Michael (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 320 Pages - 11/15/2016 (Publication Date) - Thames & Hudson (Publisher)
Apple iPhone 11 Pro
The best gift for amateur shutterbugs
For years, while many iPhone owners would sing the praises of their phone, one area where they would complain would be when it comes to the camera. This is especially true when compared to other smartphones on the market. With the iPhone 11, Apple is starting to catch up. With three sensors on the back of the phone, you can take normal photos, wide-angle, and telephoto pictures. A night mode brings brightness and clarity to dark scenes and the Portrait mode has gotten better, defocusing on the background more. While the overall design hasn’t been changed much, the improvement of the camera will make any amateur shutterbug happy on Christmas morning.
See here for top phones for designers & creatives
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- Carrier - This phone is locked to simple Mobile from Tracfone, which means this Device can only be used on the Simple Mobile wireless network.
- Plans - simple Mobile offers a variety of coverage plans, including 30-day unlimited Talk, text & data. No Activation Fees, No Credit Checks, and no Hassles On a Nationwide Lightning-fast Network. For...
- Activation - You’ll receive a simple Mobile SIM kit with this iPhone. Follow the instructions to get service activated with the simple Mobile plan of your choice.
- 5. 8-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display
- Water and dust resistant (4 meters for up to 30 minutes, IP68)
Sinstar 8 in 1 Aluminum Multi-Port
The best gift for peripheral junkies
If there is one thing that many designers don’t have is enough room to connect all of their devices and the 8 in 1 Multi-Port offers a great solution with ports for Micro USB, USB C, and others. With transfer speeds up to 5Gbps, the multi-port will be a great gift at Christmas.
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- Beware of fakes,Sold By Sinstar Mall Only. 8-in-1 Multi Ports Design, Expand Your Type-C Port-- Features three USB 3.0 ports, SD and Micro SD card slots, Ethernet, charging port, and 4K HDMI video...
- Support New Type-C products-- Including new 12" MacBook, MacBook Pro 13" and MacBook Pro 15",Google Pixel Chromebook, ASUS Zenbook 3 (UX390), Dell XPS 13, 2016 HP Spectre, Surface 4 pro
- Fast Speed Data Transmission-- USB version 3.0, offers data transmission speed up to 5 Gbps, you can transfer everything from a 2TB SD card to your MacBook in just a few seconds
- Slim & Compact, Easy to Carry- The compact and easy-to-use design makes it simple to take the Type-C USB Hub with you anywhere you go, you won't be far from the convenience of accessing your favorite...
- One Year Guarantee-- We provide 1 Year Guarantee for this product, if you have any problem or unsatisfied with your order, you can contact us at any time, we will help to cancel the order or refund...
Huion L4S Light Pad
The Best Gift for the artist on the go
You can’t always keep a designer in their office all day and even when they leave, being able to work on the go can be a blessing. The L4S Light Pad from Huion has a compact design and is lightweight enough where any artist or designer can keep working on their projects, no matter where they are.
See here for more top tablets for artists
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- Eyesight-protected Technology - Ease your eye strain together with the protective film and eye-protective LED lamp; Only 5.1mm of thickness; Brightness: 1100 Lux; Illuminate Uniformity 745 cd/ m2.
- Stepless Adjustable Brightness - Adjust the light freely with the touch sensitive button, simply a better way to find your ideal lighting; It will remember your favorable brightness last time of use.
- USB POWERED - Comes with a USB cable, easily power your Huion L4S light pad from any Computer, Power Bank or USB Plug that connects directly into a wall outlet.
- PORTABLE - Ultra Thin Design; Sleek design with a 12-by-8 inch work surface, light weight, only 0.60kg, portable carrying in a bag on the go or on a trip.
- Wide Usage - Can be used for Negative Film Viewing, Artwork Tracing, Calligraphy, Scrapbooking, Tattoo Transferring, Sewing Projects, X-ray Film Viewing and more; One year warranty.
Bose QuietComfort 35 II Wireless Headphones
The best gift for some peace and quiet
Type: Over-ear, wireless | Battery life: 20+ hours | Weight: 1.3lbs
When its crunch time, a designer tends to focus on their project and not much else. To help your favorite designer, the QuietComfort 35 II wireless headphones from Bose come with industry-leading noise cancellation and also incorporates a multi-function button to access their smartphone’s virtual assistant letting them hear and respond to your text messages without having to break away from their work.
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- 3 levels of world-class noise cancellation for better listening experience in any environment
- Alexa-enabled for voice access to music, information, and more
- Noise-rejecting dual-microphone system for clear sound and voice pick-up
- Balanced audio performance at any volume
- Hassle-free Bluetooth pairing, personalized settings, access to future updates, and more through the Bose Connect app
Logitech MX Master 2S
The best gift for ergonomic health
DPI: 4,000 | Interface: Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless | Buttons: 7 | Ergonomic: Right-handed | Features: Scrolling wheel, Customizable buttons, Thumbwheel, ergonomic build
The very same mouse used by Jacob Cass, the MX Master 2S from Logitech provides the user with amazing comfort thanks to its ergonomic design. If you have a designer on your list who is still using an old two-button mouse, do them and their wrist a favor and get the MX Master 2S which comes with customizable buttons to help get work done.
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Microsoft Surface Book 2
The best gift for anyone needing an upgrade
CPU: 8th generation Intel Quad-Core i7 Processor | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 13.5-inch and 15-inch PixelSense Touchscreen | Storage: 256GB – 1TB
The problem with many laptops is that by the time you get them home, their obsolete and if you know a designer using one that’s 2 to 3 years old, that laptop is a fossil and its time for an upgrade. Enter the Surface Book 2 from Microsoft and with the flexibility to be either a laptop or a great tablet for drawing of sketching, you can turn that old piece of tech into something bright, shiny, and new on Christmas morning.
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- Microsoft Surface Book 2 Features a 8th generation Intel Quad Core i7 Processor, 1 TB of storage, 16 GB RAM, and up to 17 hours of video playback
- Enhanced Graphics performance with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 discrete GPU w/2GB GDDR5 Graphics Memory
- The fastest Surface Book yet, with 2x more power. Bluetooth: BT4.1 LE
- Vibrant PixelSense Display: now available with an improved 13.5" touchscreen
- Four versatile modes of use and new USB-C port
The Best Christmas Gifts for Designers
Shopping for someone who works as a designer can be tough. It can be tough to know what to buy someone no matter what career they have but we hope that with our list of the best Christmas gifts for designers, we’ve made that process a bit easier.
Do you have any great gift ideas? Share them in the comments below!
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