Recommended tools, resources and books for Graphic Designers
This is a list of the tools, resources and books I use. Some items contain affiliate partner links, which means I receive a small portion of the price at no extra cost to you. This buys me coffee. Thank you!
Online resources
Skillshare
Free for 14 days
Two free weeks of Skillshare courses – a brilliant way to pick up new skills, including logo design, illustration, typography and marketing.
Design Cuts
£££
High quality design resources & bundles, including: fonts, graphics, textures, patterns, icons, mockups and more. Save up to 50-99% on the best design assets.
Placeit
£££
An expansive collection of mockups & templates that can be very easily customised.
Logo Package Express
$119
This brilliant efficiency tool helps you speed up your workflow. You’ll be able to export your logos in all the required configurations and formats in under 5 minutes. This will enable you to use your time for designing logos, not exporting them!
Placeit
£££
An expansive collection of mockups & templates that can be very easily customised.
Logo Package Express
$119
This brilliant efficiency tool helps you speed up your workflow. You’ll be able to export your logos in all the required configurations and formats in under 5 minutes. This will enable you to use your time for designing logos, not exporting them!
Design tools
Macbook Pro (Retina, 13 inch)
~ £1700
We do all our design work on this great machine and its proven to be very reliable for illustration, website design, and video editing. Plus, it looks incredible!
ASUS 23 Inch Monitor (Full HD) Ultra-Slim Design
£109.99
This monitor is worth every penny. Some of it’s features include: frameless design for multi-display use, ASUS Eye Care technology including low blue light, and stunning 178° viewing angles.
![Uni Pin Drawing Pen Pigment Liner Set Black 0.05mm to 0.8mm [Set of 6]](https://www.cleardesign.studio/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/uni-pin-drawing-pen-set-oqih2sko8q11fg7k53fzqamuov7e3rh7rbzk1h92hc.jpg "Uni pin drawing pen set")
Uni Pin Drawing Pen – Set of 6
£10.99
Here’s a set of pens that won’t let you down. The pack contains 6 variants (0.05mm – 0.8mm) which provide the perfect set for technical designers.
Apple Magic Mouse 2
£65
This is a designer’s saving grace. Rechargeable, light, and it allows you to scroll in all directions. We prefer this over drawing tablets.
Rhodia Head-Stapled A4 Dotted Pad
£6.25
These dot pads are brilliant for grid work. The cover also perfectly folds back behind the pad – a great feature.
Derwent Precision Mechanical Pencil – 0.5mm
£7.52
It may just be a pencil, but this is quite some pencil. It comes with 15 leads and is perfectly designed for maintaining grip and balance when doing detailed, technical work. It’s definitely one to consider.
Design books
Logo: The Reference Guide to Symbols and Logotypes, Michael Evamy
£10.56
352 pages, 1410 illustrations, 110 in colour. This book provides designers with an incredible reference source for logo design.
Symbol: The Reference Guide to Abstract and Figurative Trademarks (LK Mini), Stephen Bateman and Angus Hyland
£11.99
Using over 1,300 symbols, this book explores the visual language of symbols according to form.
Logo Modernism (Design), Jens Muller
£43.28
Logo Modernism brings together approx. 6,000 trademarks, focused on the period 1940-80, to examine how modernist imperatives gave birth to corporate identity.
Identity Designed, David Airey
£20.99 (Hardcover) | £13.54 (Kindle Edition)
Identity Designed explains the process and the benefits of brand identity design and includes a collection of high-caliber projects from the world’s most talented design studios.