2020 Holiday Gift Guide - UI/UX Designers And Creatives

The Designlab gift guide for UI/UX designers is filled with 60 gift ideas for the creatives in your life. Get inspiration today.

Alexa Harrison
Alexa Harrison
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Nov 25, 2020
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5
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The gifting season is upon us. And with how rough this year has been for so many, we could all use a bit of cheering up! Whether you’re a UI/UX Designer searching for items to add to your own holiday wishlist, or someone who’s seeking gift inspiration for your creative friends and family, we’ve provided 60 ideas below to help you find the perfect gift.

For the Home Office

1. Start afresh in 2021 with a Stendig calendar that’s forever in style.

1_Stending Calendar

2. This super sleek and stylish dry erase writing board is ideal for creating to-do lists, empathy maps, or for quick note-taking.

2_Dry Erase Board

3. Experience the joy of giving when you gift anything from Hoptimist — the Danish company company known for its bubble lamps and history of putting smiles on people’s faces.

3_Hoptimist

4. This Vitruvi oil diffuser will fill your office with calming scents — and it looks good while doing it!

4_Vitruvi Stone Diffuser

5. The Casper Glow Light can help you naturally wind down for better, deeper sleep — which means optimal creative productivity the next day.

5_Casper Glow Light

UI/UX Design Specific Gifts

6. A Designlab 4-week short course in visual, UI, or UX design is the perfect gift for someone looking to build their design skills or make a career pivot.

6_Designlab Short Course

7. With UI Stencils you can quickly and efficiently wireframe with the most commonly used iconography and interaction techniques.

7_UI Stencils

8. Design better products faster with the 60 cards in the UI Patterns Card Set.

8_UI Patterns Card Set

9. Create unique web page structures easily and offline using UX Flowchart Cards.

9_UX Flowchart Cards

10. Always know the code for colors that inspire you with the Color Muse tool.

10_Color Muse

Games to Fuel Creativity

11. The design thinking card game, Make It Pop, is filled with hilarious design prompts to keep you feeling creative.

11_Make It Pop

12. Use your creativity and imagination to solve riddles from visual clues with the Concept game.

12_Concept

13. Celebrate creativity and let your mistakes become your masterpieces with the Bob Ross Happy Little Accidents party game.

13_Happy Little Accidents

14. Put your brand knowledge to the test with the Logo Board Game, which quizzes you on the brands you love using 400 game cards.

14_Logo Board Game

15. Maintain your aesthetic while also having fun with Classic Bookshelf Board Games.

15_Classic Board Games

Well-Designed Kitchen Tools

16. The vacuum insulated Kinto Travel Tumbler has great heat and cold retention, and maintains the aroma and flavor of drinks for a long time.

16_Kinto Travel Tumbler

17. All the details of the Marimekko Teapot work together to brew the perfect cup of tea.

17_Marimekko Unikko Teapot

18. Pantone Espresso Cups or really anything from Pantone, are so on-brand for UI/UX designers.

18_Pantone Espresso Cups

19. The CHEMEX Pour-Over Glass Coffeemaker offers a timeless and elegant design that all creatives are sure to appreciate.

19_CHEMEX Pour-Over

20. Watching you sip from this Yoda Best UX Designer Mug is sure to put a smile on your co-workers’ faces over Zoom.

20_Yoda Best UX Designer Mug

Your New Favorite Sketching Supplies

21. The Dot Grid Notebook is perfect for bringing your wireframes and ideas to life.

21_Dot Grid Notebook

22. This Wipebook Pro may be the last notebook you ever buy.

22_Wipebook Pro

23. These Pantone Notebooks should be a right of passage for any UI/UX designer.

23_Pantone Notebooks

24. If you find inspiration often strikes when you’re on the go, try Field Notes.

24_Field Notes

25. The Huion Tablet is great for sketching digitally, and they're quite affordable.

25_Huion Drawing Tablet

26. Similar to the Wipebook, the dot-grid Rocketbook Smart Reusable Notebook allows you to write, organize, scan, and reuse.

26_Rocketbook Smart Reusable Notebook

27. The Baronfig Confidant Hardcover Notebook is the only notebook we’ve found that opens flat, is small enough to go everywhere you go, and is big enough to work with all day long.

27_Baronfig Confidant Hardcover Notebook

Health Must-Haves

28. For UI/UX designers that stare at a computer screen all day long, a Migraine Stick is a true savior.

28_Migraine Stick

29. One of these lavender-scented microwavable Warmies is great for stress relief.

29_Warmies

30. Blue light glasses can reduce eyestrain, improve sleep habits, and prevent eye disease for people like UI/UX designers that look at screens for long periods.

30_Blue Light Blockers

31. This Manta COOL Mask will soothe your eyes, and can also provide migraine relief with it’s near-blackout design.

31_Manta COOL Mask

32. Sitting at a desk all day can put major stress on the lower back, but a monthly massage membership can help.

32_Massage Envy Membership

Must-Read Books for UI/UX Designers

33. Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon

33_Show Your Work

Promising Amazon Review: “Such a fantastic book for creatively minded people! It’s the kind of book that you can pick up and set down over and over again. A good book to have on your nightstand or—dare I say it—in your bathroom. (Yes, I’m a bathroom reader. ) I’d certainly give it away as a gift.” 

34. The Pocket Universal Principles of Design: 150 Essential Tools for Architects, Artists, Designers, Developers, Engineers, Inventors, and Makers by William Lidwell

34_The Pocket Universal Principles of Design

Promising Amazon Review: “Wow, what a great read. I went cover to cover in a few hours since I couldn't put it down. Get out your highlighter and sticky notes to earmark your favorite pages! Everything from archetypes and colors to decision making methods and design conventions.”

35. 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People by Susan Weinschenk

35_100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about P

Promising Amazon Review: “This is a great book. As a UX Designer it's really opened my eyes to new ways of thinking about the why and how people use products. It's an easy read, not too thick. Laid out in logical, digestible chapters that are then broken into sections of information that'll turn you into the office expert in user psychology and get you testing new ideas in no time. Might also help win some pub quizzes!”

36. MC24: Bruce Mau's 24 Principles for Designing Massive Change in your Life and Work by Bruce Mau

36_Bruce May MC24

Promising Amazon Review: “MC24 coming out by chance in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic has been a gift of optimism as well as a brilliant path to move forward in probably one of the most challenging times in human history. A must-read for anyone interested in change, sustainability and a very good account of the enormous body of work of this one of a kind designer.”

37. Mismatch (How Inclusion Shapes Design) by Kat Holmes

37_Mismatch

Promising Amazon Review: “If you make products and can’t answer ‘who am I excluding’, you should read this book. Every day people have to adapt to make products work for them. You’re one of those people. Think about it: we all experience challenges with objects in our lives because of permanent or temporary disabilities. Kat provides a framework for identifying exclusion and tools to make products that allow everyone to use them. She shares stories and anecdotes that help connect the methods described. Mismatch is an excellent guidebook for anyone creating experiences for customers.”

38. A Book Apart publishes books for people who design, write, and code — and they have gift cards!

38_A book apart Gift Card

39. Writing Is Designing by Michael J. Metts & Andy Welfle

39_Writing Is Designing

Promising Amazon Review: “Writing is Design provides a warm welcome into the world of UX writing. Through interviews and real-world examples, the book shares tips to write effectively, demonstrates the importance of writing thoughtfully, and provides methods to partner with the wider team to co-create excellent user experiences.”

Useful Tech for Design Professionals

40. Never let your wires get tangled again; store your mouse, chargers, headphones, and more in a Bellroy Pouch.

40_Bellroy Pouch

41. Easily print your favorite memories on sticky-backed photo paper with the HP Sprocket Portable Instant Photo Printer.

41_HP Sprocket Portable Instant Photo Printer

42. Yohann Stands are for iPads and MacBooks; they are sleek, dynamic, and super functional.

42_Yohann Stands

43. For when you need time away from your screen, the Mighty Vibe Music Player can play your playlists and podcasts.

43_Mighty Vibe - Music Player

44. This Desk Mat is both an aesthetically pleasing way to brighten up your workspace, and a highly functional and extra large mouse pad.

44_Desk Mat

45. The Oculus Quest VR game enables you to untether your expectations and play your way.

Creativity Inspo Tools

46. Ignite bright ideas and get unstuck with these Spark Creativity prompts.

46_Spark Creativity

47. The Buddha Board helps you master the art of letting go with water painting.

47_BUDDHA BOARD.jpg

48. Creativity needs constraints; set a 15-minute limit for yourself with the Hay Hourglass.

48_Hay Hourglass

49. If you get your most creative ideas in the shower, you need the Aqua Notes Water Proof Note Pad.

49_Aqua Notes Water Proof Note Pad

50. Did you know lavender is known as the scent of creativity? Light up a Lavender Candle and reap the benefits.

50_Lavender Candle

Things to Wear

51. This Mask Chain is a stylish way to conveniently take your mask on and off.

51_Mask Chain

52. Discover unique products while support the Museum of Modern Art by shopping on the MoMA website.

52_MOMA Vans

53. Happy Socks has cute socks, and even cuter and creative packaging.

53_Happy Sox

54. You’ll be the real MVP with this UX Designer T-Shirt.

54_UX Designer T-Shirt

Gifts That Keep On Giving

55. Taking time to clean off the white board in your brain and get quiet is crucial for UI/UX designers. Try a meditation app subscription like Balance, Calm, or Headspace.

55_Headspace

56. Brand Magazine introduces one well-balanced brand from around the globe in each issue.

56_Brand Magazine

57. Try a Tea Subscription Box for consistently calming tea choices.

57_Tea Subscription Box

58. Offscreen Magazine is an independent print magazine that examines how we shape technology and how technology shapes us.

58_Offscreen Magazine

59. The MunchPak Subscription Snack Box is perfect for anyone working from home missing the free in-office snacks.

59_MunchPak Subscription

60. The Horti Plant Subscription Box will provide you with hard-to-kill plants to keep you company while working from home.

60_Horti plant subscription box

 

We hope this list of gift ideas has helped you gain inspiration for the UI/UX designers and creatives in your life, and also helped you to create your own holiday wish list. Happy holidays!

If you’re interested in exploring a career in UI/UX Design, check out our career-change accelerator program, UX Academy. Or, if you’re new to the field of design, explore Design 101.

Launch a career in ux design with our top-rated program

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Gain confidence using product data to design better, justify design decisions, and win stakeholders. 6-week course for experienced UX designers.

Launch a career in ux design with our top-rated program

Top Designers Use Data.

Gain confidence using product data to design better, justify design decisions, and win stakeholders. 6-week course for experienced UX designers.