What Goes Around Comes Around
Over the years I’ve developed a pretty comprehensive toolkit that has helped my workflow tremendously. I’ve had a great experience with these services, so I wanted to create a growing list where I could share them with others. If there are any tools you are obsessed with and think I should check out, please fill them out in the form below and I will add them as I see fit! Cheers, and let’s help one another :)
My Go-Tos
Some of these tools operate in multiple categories, so I’ve tried to only list them once based off my main use for them. For the most part, inspiration is interwoven throughout each category. I’m sure there are a few tools I’ve forgotten to list, so I will periodically conduct audits of my work flow to ensure I catch them all, and will also continually add to this growing list. Enjoy!
Project Mgmt
Moodboarding
Email Marketing
Copywriting
File Size & Type
File Sharing
Highlighted Reading
When it comes to design books, I’m a total nerd. If it has a beautiful cover and a captivating summary, I’m sold. I’ve read countless design books over the years and feel many have helped me find inspiration, realign my mission, and fueled me to keep going in light of any spats of impostor syndrome. Some of my favorites were not specific to design at all, but connected in some way or another to my design practice and overall creative strategy.
Design Specific or
Related
Change By Design by Tim Brown
Can be found here
Oh Shit! What Now: Honest Advice for New Graphic Designers by Craig Oldham
Can be found here
The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Klair
Can be found here
Freelance and Business and Stuff by Amy and Jennifer Hood
Can be found here
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud
Can be found here
Now You See It: And Other Essays on Design by Michael Beirut
Can be found here
Aiga Eye on Design by Aiga Eye on Design
Can be found here
Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips
Can be found here
How To Be A Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy
Can be found here
Don’t Get a Job, Make a Job by Gemma Barton
Can be found here
Grid Systems by Josef Müller-Brockman
Can be found here
Productivity & Personal
Inspiration / Faves
The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson and John Mann
Can be found here
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Can be found here
A Wise Man Taught Me How To Defy Gravity and Now I’ll teach You by Nathaniel Whitten
Can be found here
The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
Can be found here
Do/ Pause by Robert Poynton
Can be found here
Innovation, Social Impact,
Venture Support
Get Backed by Evan Baehr and Evan Loomis
Can be found here
Creating a World without Poverty by Muhammad Yunis
Can be found here
Blue Ocean Strategy by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Can be found here
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp
Can be found here
Tao of Innovation, The: Nine Questions Every Innovator Must Answer by Hsien-Yeang Seow, Toyofuku Sue Tan, and Teng-Kee Tan
Can be found here
Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld
Can be found here
The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture by Scott Belsky
Can be found here