…here’s a small suggestion what you could get me (and not only me) this year!
Website pencil kit
I love Axure, I really do. But lately I have a problem with it. It’s simply to big, blucky and doing quick prototypes gets more time consuming. That’s why I went back to old school drawing and sketching the ideas. Making a small change is as simple as picking up a pencil and sketching the element again. And it’s really fun, not to mention more interactive.
Besides you get to feel like a kiddo from primary school all over again
Where to buy: http://www.uistencils.com/products/website-stencil-kit
Price: $29 USD + delivery (they also send stuff from Germany!)
Axure Flat UI Kit
Don’t get me wrong. I still use Axure to prepare testing website, especially for bigger companies. Since (almost) everything is lately about aesthetics those might looks simple, yet still have to be top notch. And this is where Axure Flat UI Kit comes handy. It’s pretty, I mean really pretty. Actually you can build a whole service using that library and it will look like ready for production.
Also you save your graphic designer’s time, so that s/he can have that extra cup of coffee and a small chit-chat in the kitchen, which makes them very happy in the morning.
Where to buy: http://wearebridge.co/ux-tools/
Price: $29 USD
Smashing Magazine’s books
Smashing Magazine doesn’t need to be introduced to anyone. As most of you know they also release (e-)books in the topic of web design. Apps For All: Coding Accessible Web Applications covers the most important subject around the web lately – accessible services.
Good practices should not only be established for people who have problems with sight (including colour-blind who are often forgotten about), but for apps that need to work offline or all the issues like “what if the Javascript doesn’t load?” as well.
Where to buy: https://shop.smashingmagazine.com/apps-for-all-coding-accessible-web-applications.html
Price: $14.90 USD
Bonus: How to give great gifts?
Few days ago I stumbled upon an article A Designer’s Guide to Gift Giving. When you think about it… figuring what to buy for Christmas/birthdays/any other occasion is like designing User Experience. You have to gather requirements, see where the person is coping with problems in their daily lives and look for solutions to override those. It doesn’t have to be expensive or life changing stuff. In fact a perfect gift might be those cliché sport socks if the person likes jogging.
So next time go and “interview” the people. Ask about their daily lives and take notes*, you never know when an inspiration for a gift might come
*If you don’t have any app for that go and check out Evernote and Wunderlist.