Daniel Marino

The Tools I Use to get the Job Done

I enjoy reading what tools other designers use to get their jobs done. In fact, a lot of the tools I currently, I’ve picked up from reading random blog posts. So I would like to present my list with hopes of someone finding something new here. Before I start listing stuff, I would like to mention that at home I’m on Windows XP (which I hardly use). At work, I have a Mac G5, which is where I do about 85% of my work. I suppose not all of these tools are work related, but they do help simplify my life, thus making me more productive.

Photoshop Bet you didn’t see that one coming… I have CS at home and CS2 at work. The biggest feature I use in CS2 that isn’t available in CS is the ability to create animated-GIFs without having to switch to ImageReady. Why would anyone want to create an animated-GIF
you ask? Because I get paid to, that’s why.

Illustrator I don’t see many web designers list this one, but I do a lot of preliminary work in this. I use this to layout my basic wireframes, site maps, and logos or any other artwork that will need scaling flexibility. At home I have CS and at work I have CS2. CS2 sports the “Live Trace” feature which I use all the time – much more powerful than CS’s “Auto Trace” feature.

InDesign If I’m doing design for print, then this is my baby for layout. It’s also great for creating text-heavy PDFs and business forms too. I have CS at home and CS2 at work, but I haven’t noticed any major differences between the two.

DreamWeaver If I didn’t already own this at home, I wouldn’t waste the money on it. It’s a great program, but well-overpriced for what you get. I almost never use the WYSIWYG functionality and since I do all my sites with CSS, it would be just as easier to use a cheap text editing program. Plus you don’t have to waste your time and money upgrading every two years. I’m using Version 8 at home and work.

Flash I’ve been getting into some major ActionScripting at work (the kind that makes you loose sleep). At home I have MX 2004 and work, Version 8. There are quite a few difference between the two, but I’m not going to bother to list them here. I will say that I’m constantly running into problems when going back and forth between the two versions. I will say that I find things easier to create in Version 8.

FTP I realize I could use DreamWeaver, but I prefer using a separate FTP program… Don’t really know why. At home I use CuteFTP and at work I use Cyberduck. They’re both free!

Browsers I mostly use Firefox and Safari, but I’ve got them all for testing purposes. In fact a great program to have is MultipleIE which allows you to have several versions of Internet Explorer on your computer without partitioning your drive. It’s also free, which is a major plus. I also use these must-have Firefox plugins: Firebug, Web Developer Toolbar, and Adblock.

MAMP I just installed MAMP at work so I can do local development with PHP files. I haven’t really used it much, but I like it so far. It is really nice not to have to upload a PHP file to my server every time I update it.

Paparazzi Great for taking screen shots of websites. Even has a timer delay on it so if you want to wait for some animation to finish before it catches the screen. You can get it here.

GMail My webmail app of choice. I’ve been so disgruntled ever since work started blocking it. So many great features… including being able to forward incoming emails to another email address, which is what I do now. I’ve used Google Calander too, but I’ve already got two other ones, and I don’t really need a third. I do use Google Docs & Spreadsheets (which is what I’m using to write this) on occasion.

Backpack I use this off and on. I’m honestly not too keen on it because it is quicker for me to jot down notes on paper. But if I have a really long list that’s constantly changing, I’ll use it. Also if I have a list of things I need from a client, I’ll use it so I can share the list with them publicly – gets me off the hook from nagging them.

NetNewsWire Lite This is a free RSS aggregator and ever since I’ve started using it, my life has been easier. I follow around 15 blogs/sites and its constantly changing. This makes it easier for me to track them.

Del.icio.us I just started using this and it comes in handy because I’m constantly going between three computers. I always have my bookmarks wherever I go.

So I’m pretty sure that’s everything. If I think of anything else, I’ll write an update. Hope this helps some of you!