The Tools on My Desk This Year

People ask about my tools more than my process. Honestly, the tools matter less than you think. I have watched brilliant designers make extraordinary work with a ballpoint pen and an old laptop, and I have watched people with every expensive gadget on the market struggle to finish a single screen. Good thinking travels with you. Tools are just what happen to be on the desk this year.

But here’s what’s on my desk this year. I am sharing it partly because people keep asking, and partly because putting it together made me realize how much my setup has shifted toward fewer, simpler things. Every item on this list earns its place by making my days a little calmer, a little more focused or a little kinder to my body.

Paper first

A dot-grid notebook and fine markers for every first idea.

Every project I take on still starts on paper, and the notebook is the one tool I would grab first in a fire. I prefer a dot grid over lines or blank pages. The dots give just enough structure to draw a straight box or line up a few screens, but they fade into the background when I am writing notes or sketching something loose.

I carry two kinds of pens. Fine markers for notes, labels and small details, and a thicker black marker for early sketches when I want to force myself to think in big shapes rather than tiny details. I also keep a single gray marker for shading and a highlighter for marking the one thing on a page that matters most.

Every couple of weeks, I photograph the important pages and file them with the project. That way, the paper stays a messy thinking space, and I never worry about losing an idea.

Tools change every year. Curiosity is the one that lasts.

Owen

A good chair

The best design tool I ever bought. Your back is part of your workflow.

For years, I worked from a cheap dining chair and a laptop on the kitchen table, and I told myself it was fine. It was not fine. By the end of a long day of design reviews, my neck and lower back ached, and I was noticeably less patient and less sharp in the afternoon.

When I finally invested in a properly adjustable office chair, the difference showed up within a week. I could sit comfortably through long sessions, I stopped fidgeting, and my afternoons got more productive. It cost more than any software subscription I pay for, and it has been worth every dollar.

I am not an expert on ergonomics, and everyone’s body is different. If you have ongoing pain, it is worth talking to a doctor or a physical therapist rather than relying on a designer’s blog. But the general advice I followed is widely shared: adjust the seat so your feet rest flat on the floor, support your lower back and keep the screen roughly at eye level.

The digital kit

On the screen side, my setup has gotten simpler over time. I use one main design tool for interface work, one shared whiteboard tool for workshops and remote collaboration, and a plain note-taking app for research and writing. I have tried many others, and I always end up coming back to a small, stable set.

Here is the full list of what I actually use every week:

• A laptop that is a few years old but still fast enough
• One external monitor, raised to eye level on a simple stand
• A separate keyboard and mouse so the laptop screen can stay at a comfortable height
• One main interface design app
• One online whiteboard for workshops
• A plain text notes app for interviews and drafts
• A cheap phone stand for testing designs on a real device

The phone stand might be the most underrated item. I test every mobile design on an actual phone, propped up next to my monitor, rather than only on the big screen. Text sizes, tap targets and contrast all feel very different in your hand than in a design file.

Small things that help

A few smaller items have quietly improved my days more than any big purchase.

1. A kitchen timer. I use it for focused work blocks and for workshops. A physical timer keeps my phone out of reach.
2. Noise-canceling headphones. Essential for deep work and for any call from a busy coffee shop.
3. A desk lamp with warm light. My eyes get tired far less on winter afternoons.
4. A big water bottle. If it is on the desk, I drink it. If it is in the kitchen, I forget.
5. A plant. It does nothing for my design skills, but it makes the room feel alive.

How the desk is arranged

Where things sit matters almost as much as what they are. My desk is a plain wooden table about five feet wide, placed beside a window rather than facing it, so daylight falls across the screen instead of creating glare. The monitor sits straight ahead, the laptop off to the left for chat and email, and the notebook always lives on the right, open, within easy reach of my pen hand.

That last detail sounds trivial, but it changed my habits. When the notebook was in a drawer, I reached for the keyboard first. Now that it is always open beside me, I sketch a quick idea before I build it, almost without thinking. Arranging the desk to make the good habit the easy habit has done more for my work than any app.

At the end of every day, I spend two minutes clearing the surface: pens back in the cup, loose sticky notes filed or tossed, cables tucked away. Starting the next morning at a clean desk makes the first hour noticeably calmer, and it is the cheapest productivity trick I know.

What I stopped using

The list of things I removed is just as important as the list of things I kept. I stopped using a second external monitor, because it encouraged me to keep too many things open at once. I deleted several plugins and productivity apps that promised to save time but mostly added notifications. I also stopped carrying a tablet for sketching. It was lovely, but the notebook was faster and never needed charging.

Each time I removed something, I worried I would miss it. I almost never did. A simpler desk turned out to mean a simpler head.

Key takeaway: Invest in the things that support your body and your focus, like a good chair and a good notebook. Keep the software list short and stable. Everything else is optional.

What really matters

If you are early in your design career and feel pressure to buy the newest gear, please don’t. You do not need an expensive setup to do excellent work. You need a way to think on paper, a way to build on screen and a body that is not in pain at four in the afternoon.

Next year, this list will probably look a little different. A tool will be replaced, an app will change its pricing, and something new will catch my eye. What will not change is the part that actually matters: staying curious about the people I design for and the problems they bring me. No tool can do that part for you.