Are you looking for a gift for the graphic / web designer in your life, or an awesome present for a developer? Or just some cool s**t for a technology loving geek?Then check out these awesome gift ideas that will bring a smile to the hardest of hearts. If you need something to jazz up their ipad, charge their iphone on the go, bring inspiration to their desk space or just generally increase their coolness by 23% there is definitely something for you here.
Seriously it took bloody ages writing this.
BackPack Adjustable Shelf For Imac
Twelve South create beautifully designed accessories exclusively for Apple computers. We love Twelve South and their products really are not only useful but just generally awesome. We would happily buy every product they make.
The BackPacks for Imac’s are beyond useful, we bought 2. 1 for the front and one for the back. You can put your external drive or leads on the back tray and your iphone on the front tray to keep things tidy.
Price: $34.99 / £21.99
Mino Mono USB Monitors
MINI MONO create beautiful portable USB monitors which you can use as a second screen if you are out and about working. If like me your screen gets cramped with Photoshop, Illustrator, Skype, Email, Chrome, Evernote and ICal all vying for attention then this is a perfect solution.
They even have touchscreens too in varying sizes and I will prob go for the 10″ inch, I’m all about them extra inches man.
Prices vary from $329 – $199 / £200 – £125
Soundmatters Dash7 Speaker
Need some decent sound quality on the go or when staying in a hotel or on a park bench? Then check out DASH7™ – The über-flat, slides in your pocket, truly amazing, wireless sound bar. With 12 hours battery life, Bluetooth connection and the ability to connect to pretty much all devices these would make a great gift for audio anal designers & developers.
Price $219 / £135
FluxMob Bolt
The Kickstarted funded Fluxmob BOLT is designed to replace your standard wall charger and will automatically charge with your phone and be ready to go when you are. Apparently its the worlds smallest, I can relate to that
Price $60 / £36
Anker Astro3
Ankers Astro3 is the perfect smartphone, tablet, and tech-gear companion. You can charge iOS, Android or pretty much any USB-charged device at its maximum speed. If you ever had to sacrifice charging an ipad to get your iphone fully charged (1st world problems I know) then this is decent solution.
Price $50 / £30
iCADE – iPad Arcade Cabinet
The Icade – iPad Arcade Cabinet is a Beautifully retro-styled tabletop arcade cabinet that you can play sole old school Atari games. If you are as old as me you will remember Atari owner video games back in the early to mid 80’s. Personally I prefer the memories, it will be like meeting your old school crush and remembering her when she was 13 but now she’s 37 and life has not been kind. Thats the Atari. still check it, it looks pretty damn cool and hipster.
Price $99.99 / £60
Crabble Folding iPhone Stand
For some reason I have issues with having my iphone flat on a table, I need a dam stand for the damn thing. The Crabble Folding iPhone Stand is the cheapest solution and its pretty sweet looking too. It also fits a lot of other smartphones too.
It can fit on a credit card slot in your wallet, which is going to impress the ladies for sure when you get your wallet out.
Price $4.99 / £3.00
Mr. Coffee MWBLK Mug Warmer
Ok, there’s people dying around the world, living in misery and fear. People are hungry. But come on man, is there anything worse than when you do yourself a much needed coffee and then you start an important project or amendment, you get in your zone and your on a creative roll, and then you go take a sip of that sweet coffee…… and its cold as ice man boooooooooo. Its a horrible feeling son, but with this cheap ass mug warmer its a thing of the past, like my Herpes.
Price $9.90 / £6.00
The Portfolio Handbook
I actually have this, even if you experienced in the wonders of design and have an awesome portfolio like me, its good to get back to the basics now and again. This huge magazine has all kinds of useful advice on designing, developing and promoting your design portfolio.
Price £8.99 / $14.71
Super Graphic
The ladies know I love superheroes, they know I’m a graphic designer. So if there was a book about superheroes and graphic design it makes sense it could be decent present for a graphic designing geek like myself. Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Comic Book Universe by Tim Leong is full of cool s**t and infographics such as the evolution of the Batman logo.
Price $13 / £7.50
STAR THEATRE PLANETARIUM
“…It’s full of stars” as a fondly remembered website used to say. If you are struggling to chill out after a stressful day designing logo’s for plumbers then try this bad boy out. Apparently it is just like looking into a clear night sky except you can stick it on your bedroom, this is on my to buy list. “Ultra-bright white LED technology enables this über-advanced projector to beam 10,000 stars skywards”
Price £109 / $179
Bose® QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones (Old Version)
Any excuse to have a picture of a pretty lady… Its a weakness of mine, but if your partner has a weakness for audio perfection then these noise reducing headphones would make a sweet if expensive gift. My headphones never last more than a month so I know I would destroy this. Perfect for frequent flyers, apparently.
Price $279 / £170
Lynda.com Subscription
“Broaden your designers horizons with a gift membership to lynda.com. Members get anytime access to thousands of easy-to-follow video tutorials on software, creative, and business skills. Memberships are available to fit every budget. Choose the plan that’s right for your recipient, customize your gift message, and select the delivery date. It’s easy!” Yes I’m bored of writing so copied & pasted that from the site, but it is a great site to learn new tricks. You never stop learning.
Prices from $25 / £16 a month
GhostStand
“GhostStand elevates MacBook 6 inches off your desk. Pair with your favourite wireless keyboard and mouse and you’ll have a more comfortable desktop style workstation.” More awesomeness from Twelve South, I just ordered this bad boy. How cool am I?
Prices $34.99 / £22
HDMI Pocket Projector
Now you can blast your ‘selfie’ pics up to 60 inches from your iphone. This is pretty cool to be fair, a pocket-sized HDMI projector that projects up to 1080p HD images up to 60″ diagonal. Rechargeable and portable too. More imaginative people than me could think of some ‘hilarious’ things you could do with this.
Price $299 / £182
Lifta Desk Organiser
“Lifta was designed with three goals in mind: lift your computer to the proper ergonomic height, offer a place to store peripherals, and keep your desk tidy”. This is something I need in my life as I have so much needless s**t such as wires and Star Wars toys its getting ridiculous. As pieces of wood go its not the cheapest.
Price $125 / £76
Star Wars Clock Lamps
Not necessarily for a designer, but most designers tend to be like me, a cool mofo who is in tho Star Wars. Buy either a Darth Vader, Boba Fett or a Stormtrooper clock lamp to guarantee your designer/developer never gets to have sex with someone other than you.
Price from $34.99 / £22
