While obviously the only things you need to be a designer are your design tools, there are a few non-design resources we’ve found make our days significantly more efficient. This is an ever-growing list, but here are some of our all-time favorites. We’re not sponsored by any of these people. We’re just big fans.
Ambient Noise
When you’re doing think-work, music can be a crazy distraction, but silence can drive you crazy. Noisli allows you to manufacture ambient noise – rain storms, coffee shops, crackling fires - to help you keep your sanity and maximize your mental power.
Audiobooks + Podcasts
It takes a lot of time to make your visions into real world designs. Podcasts, or an Audible subscription, are awesome ways to get daily inspiration and stretch your mind while you work.
Picture in Picture
Fenêtre is a kickass app that allows you to keep a window open, on top of all your other windows, at all times. So if you have a Pinterest board that you want to keep referencing, you can make it always visible. Or if you’re doing busywork… it doesn’t not work for tv ;)
Inspiration
A designer favorite, Momentum Dash is a Chrome extension that gives you a beautiful picture, a quote, the time, and a lovely greeting every time you open a new tab. It’s a simple but effective way to help you keep positive and manage your focus.