The List List

As you know, I work in graphic design, printing and photography. My general world-view tends to fall onto the technical side of things. So for example, when I start taking photos, my concern usually falls onto the settings first then the shot framing and arty side of things later. When using indesign to create even the “smallest” leaflets or “simplest” letterhead, I will always measure. Always.

However, this rule of tech doesn’t always apply. The clearest examples are in Photoshop for any kind of illustration work. Yes, I will work to exacts, but at the very next breath there will be an opportunity to break the exacting rules and do something random. And thus the cosmic balance is restored.

There a number of things that make the work that I do possible to do at all. And there are some things that make it fundamentally just easier or faster. These are softwares, intangibles, or physical items that make working faster or better even in some way. So on with the list…

Let’s start with the Obvious – Software.

• Adobe Indesign CS3. This is where is spend most of my design time nowadays. I use it for fleshing out and laying out. I even sometimes use this program when I have to make custom plate setup for press.
• Adobe Photoshop CS3. This used to have the top spot. But as my work/life has changed ever so slightly, so has the nature of my software usage.
• Adobe Acrobat / Apple Preview / Distiller. Let’s face it, Acrobat is horrible software. It’s too big, too slow, and maybe too archaic. But there are a few things in its favour…. It’s extensible – which means that clever developers can make clever plug-ins that help do work faster. Of the tools in Acrobat Pro, there are only a few that are important to me, but they are very important. Apple’s Preview is better than Acrobat whenever you want to see a document quickly. That’s why it’s always open on my Mac. Speed.
• Adobe Illustrator CS3. I use it for logos and vectors. But increasingly I use it to dissect broken or scrappy PDFs that need to be fixed, or there is something in a PDF that I need. It’s a good tool, but again I think a bit overblown. My favourite version was version 8. That was because for the uses I needed, it was just nice because I found it snappy. I dislike sluggish software, and that version would still serve me well if it weren’t for the additional complications inherent with progress – transparency, compatibility etc.
• Farrukh Imposition Publisher. It’s a PowerPC application, which means that it leaks memory on the computers I have used it on. But it is a brilliant application for plate layout. PDF based, and I look forward to the next update (will this be updated to Intel guys? Please please.)
• Billings. Invoicing software. I like it because it works, and because I can sync it with my iPhone. I recommend it.
• Safari. My favourite browser. Fast enough, I guess, but the only browser that is Mac-like so it’s the only one that I actually like. One of these days soon, I’m going to give Chrome a chance I guess.
• Apple Mail. Same rules as above. If someone wants to point me in the direction of a better alternative, I would be happy to hear about it (update: Lion’s mail app looks nice), but so far I have got on quite well with it…. That would be the last 10 years then. It needs to work with Growl again. I thought that the notification system was pretty useful myself.
• iTunes. Love it or hate it, it’s the way you sync up your iOS device. And to be honest, there probably isn’t another software that does all of what it does do in one package as well as it does. If you think about it, this one application has to bear a lot of responsibility. And there’s always some kind of compromise when an app has to cover so many duties.
• Mars Edit. I’m still getting used to using this software. (This post is being written in it.) I traditionally wrote my blog posts in the WordPress interface before.

These are really the big day-to-day ones. There are others, like Strata 3d, CyberDuck, Flux, Dreamweaver and more… But the ones above, really that’s where the work get’s done.

Physical bits and bobs.

The physical items are of course those things that you can reach out and touch – literally. I mean the type of cup I use for my coffee, even the type of coffee that the day is started with for example. I like the office to be warm, sort of. Light, but not too bright. Pens for note-taking, pencils for drawing and writing plans. Decent headphones – currently I’m using the Sennhieser HD238 – they need to burn in, but they already sound pretty fab. That’s about it.

Intangibles are tricky things.

Intangibles – these are the guys that you cant put your finger on as easily. They are the ones that are more feeling than substance….

• Waking up when the alarm goes off – any later and the day can already be derailed.
• The colour of the sunlight on any given day, because let’s face it, good sunlight is beautiful.
• The times when it hits you how great the job is after all – that you get to make things and they end up as real items that get printed.
• Goals that you can’t even share, because they are too precious, but give you an extra reason to do the job well.
• Pride in knowing that you can do the job well.
• Beautiful inspiration or nostalgia in the tune that you hear. (And then stick on repeat for the whole day)

So what’s the point of telling all this? I think sometimes even writing down those things that you do and how you go about them solidifies them in your mind. Maybe there’s a way to become more efficient, maybe it’s just so you can know yourself a little more. Because in the end, even if we all used the same tools, sat in the same chairs, and drank the same coffee – it’s the way that we think, do our work, and exist that defines the outcome. (Also everyone likes to look at the next guy’s desk.)