Treat your favourite creative – or yourself – with these top Xmas gifts for graphic designers.
Whether you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift for your favourite graphic designer or a low-budget secret Santa option for the office party, we’ve pulled together the ultimate under-£20 Christmas gift guide for graphic designers. (If you have a higher budget, then take a look at our under £50 Christmas gift guide for graphic designers.
From the coolest indi magazines to the best design resources, apparel and more, we’ve handpicked the year’s very best gifts under £20 for graphic designers. (And remember: there’s no shame in treating yourself from this list while you’re at it. We will be!)
Satirical, political feminist magazine Mushpit has unapologetically turned the DIY publishing scene upside down. Born out of frustration with the rule-bound world of fashion, Mushpit is packed with content parodying mainstream publications, from tongue-in-cheek fake ads to sassy advice columns, and packs plenty of punch in the editorial. It’s designed you make you feel vindicated and victorious, and it’s currently the indi world’s magazine du jour (so holding it could make you look cool).
Editorial designers particularly will appreciate Mushpit, but any creative will more than a passing interest in magazines will appreciate a copy for Christmas.
02. The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog: Typeface Memory Game
This is a fantastic game for graphic designers and anyone intrigued by letter types
This well-designed typographic memory game includes 25 variations of the letter 'A', each in a different letter type. Players have to find matching As in the same letter type (the person with the highest number wins). With typographic information about each letter included on the card, and a separate folder providing a general history of the typography, this is a fantastic game for graphic designers and anyone intrigued by letter types.
03. Book of Ideas
Book of Ideas is an ideal gift for any graphic designer or creative at any stage of their career
British designer and art director Radim Malinic’s Book of Ideas has sat comfortably at Amazon’s #1 Best-seller spot since it was released in March. A journal of creative direction and graphic design, the publication shares advice on everything from inspiration to inbox control, facing your fears and the art of self-promotion, while showcasing a number of Malinic’s inspiring portfolio projects. Book of Ideas is an ideal gift for any graphic designer or creative at any stage of their career.
04. The Client Is Always Wrong T-Shirt
Designers everywhere will appreciate The Client Is Always Wrong T-Shirt
Designers everywhere will appreciate The Client Is Always Wrong T-Shirt. Featuring Anthony Burrill’s modular geometric font, Kit Form, this must-have custom T-shirt for designers is a great way to stick it to nightmare clients, or simply raise a smile around the studio.
05. Personalised typographic notebooks
These personalised gifts are great for graphic designers and art editors who need a stylish new notebook
For a personal Christmas gift, try these high-quality hardcover notebooks. They’re available in any letter of the alphabet, and six colour schemes, and you can customise them with your own text – ideal for graphic designers and art editors who need a stylish new notebook.
06. Pantone PA271 Coffee Maker
Make an impression with this with this vibrant, six-cup (espresso) Pantone coffee maker
Graphic designers can impress clients or kit out their home studio with this vibrant, six-cup (espresso) retro blue Pantone coffee maker. At £16 it’s the ideal gift for a coffee-loving creative (a nine-cup version is also available for £22).
07. The Motivated Type posters
Brighten up a graphic designer's walls with these cool prints
Add a touch of typographic class, or retro character and vibrancy to your favourite designer’s studio with these posters from The Motivated Type. Produced on a high-quality giclée museum archival fine art paper using fade-resistance pigment ink, print sizes range from A5 to A3. You can find the Tropical 90's Pineapple print here.
08. Draplin Design Co: Pretty Much Everything
Draplin's book is an ideal Christmas gift for any graphic designer or hobbyist with an interest in logo design
Legendary logo designer Aaron Draplin dropped his book Draplin Design Co earlier this year. A warm, insightful, mid-career survey of his work, it’s packed with case studies, brilliant advice and musings on the design industry from the prolific American logo designer – and it’s very readable. It’s an ideal Christmas gift for any graphic designer or hobbyist with an interest in logo design.
09. Moo notebook
The Moo notebook is a beautiful filling for any stocking
Paper expert Moo has created what could be the ultimate desktop notebook, and it is a beautiful thing to behold. The swiss-bound notebook (meaning handy lay-flat design) comes in a hard protective slipcase and features a business card holder, wayfinding ribbon, and a useful 16 pages of GF Smith’s Colorplan Park Green paper that has been left unlined for doodling. The recipient will think you've spent much more than the RRP!
10. Howkapow prints
For unique print designs, look no further than online store Howkapow
For unique print designs, look no further than online store Howkapow. Portuguese illustrator Rita Gomes created Be Bold (A3 giclée on 320gsm Smooth Fine Art Paper) exclusively for Howkapow, while Seville-based illustrator Eduardo Barba created Yeah (also A3 giclée on 320gsm Smooth Fine Art Paper).
11. Butterup Knife
What better gift for the discerning designer than this stainless steel Butterup knife?
New York’s Museum of Modern Art champions great design – so what better gift for the discerning designer than this stainless steel Butterup knife? Featuring a wide blade with built-in grater for maximum butter-to-bread surface area, the Butterup knife is a design classic that makes toast of hard butter.
Note: prices listed are based on exchange rates at time of article publishing which are subject to change.
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Julia is editor-in-chief, retail at Future Ltd, where she works in e-commerce across a number of consumer lifestyle brands. A former editor of design website Creative Bloq, she’s also worked on a variety of print titles, and was part of the team that launched consumer tech website TechRadar. She's been writing about art, design and technology for over 15 years.
