Awesome gifts for UX professionals
It’s the season for giving and some folks are a lot harder to shop for than others. Here is a list of some great places to shop for gifts for User Experience professionals as well as some of my favorite gifts I’ve come across that, well, I would want! Don’t worry, it’s not just a wish-list for me, but these are all great gifts for not only UX professionals but for the other creative, web and tech “geeks” you love. Happy shopping…
1. IdeaPaint
IdeaPaint is a way to turn any SPACE into a CREATIVE PLACE and all your UX buddies will be thrilled when you give them a fun and practical way to explore their ideas.
IdeaPaint is a dry erase paint that turns virtually any surface into an erasable canvas, giving you the space you need to collaborate, interact and fully explore your creativity.
Pricing for one of their “kits” starts at $225 for 50SQ FT and includes: “THIS can to mix into THAT can, recommended roller, stir stick, can opener, HELP guide, Wet Paint sign.”
or get 20SQ FT of paint only for $59 from Creatives Outfitters.
2. UX Pin
UX pin has developed Paper Prototyping Notepads that give UX professionals a “hands on approach” to wireframing. The video on their website shows you how it works. These “notepads” are basically a hands-on UX Design kit that put the focus on the user, the experience and then the design, as it should be. Very cool. What’s event better is you can take a picture and upload it to the UX Pin Online Prototyping app and its ready to collaborate on, edit and share online.
- UXPin WEB KIT for Web Design $29.99
- UXPin MOBILE KIT for iPhone $29.99
3. Nick Finck’s Blog “Gifts for User Experience Geeks 2011”
Nick has a very comprehensive list (from 2011) of tools, applications, events, books, software, hardware, etc that would make great gifts for the UX professional in your life. He’s separated the gifts by category and includes the price. I haven’t come across his 2012 list but, be sure to check out the past years (2008, 2009, and 2010).
Here are some of my favorites from his list:
This kit helps you wireframe quickly and efficiently with the most commonly used iconography and interaction techniques.
The kit includes:
-Stainless steel stencil with all your favorite user interface iconography
-Zebra mechanical pencil
-Plastic protector
-2 UI Stencils Stickers
4. Think Geek
You really can’t go wrong with a gift from Think Geek. There are so many fun and unusual gifts that will get any UX professional to smile. Here are some of my favorites from the site…
5. Cafe Press T-Shirts
Cafe Press has a new category… Geek Gifts and a sub category for UX. It’s a good resource for cool apparel and accessories.
6. Bamboo Tablets & Stylus
The Bamboo Tablet is deal for visual communicators who want to personalize and clarify their communication. You can mark up, annotate, and highlight any digital document and add handwritten notes, sketches, and doodles to clarify your thoughts. Their precision pen has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity
7. ScotteVest
This site is full of well-made and practical apparel for the teck-savvy and fashion-forward UX professional. If you want to cram a whole carry-on bag’s worth of lauggage into something wearable, nothing quite matches the Scottevest line apparel. I can fit almost anything into the travel vestI’ve been testing including, probably a kitchen sink.
Personally, I like the Penny Coat. Here are its features.
- 14 subtle and purposeful pockets add a new layer of coolness to this chic coat!
- Structured design is perfect for town and country… around the block or around the world
- Water and stain-resistant so you’ll always look your best
- Easy-grip zipper pulls provide an extra pop of style
- The ultimate in travel clothing: Why struggle with a purse or carry-on when you can easily wear everything you need?
- Weight Management System™, NoBulge™ – see Features tab for full list
- Available in stylish Mystery (Black)
- Made from a light softshell material. Machine Washable
8. American Giant’s Sweatshirt
UX professioals are obsessed with talking to users. It’s all about the customer and what looks and feels good to them. Anyone (well, it’s only for men right now) in the industry will appreciate apparel that has been iterated and designed to be the “greatest hoodie ever made” according to Slate Magazine. Especailly, since a lot of tech folks consider t-shirts and sweatshirts as a standard work uniform.
9. Amazon.com Books on UX
My favorite site to shop for book is Amazon.com where there are there are tons of great books available about UX .
- A Project Guide to UX Design by Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler ($23.09)
- The Elements of User Experience (2nd edition): User-Centered Design for the Web by Jesse James Garrett ($26.39)
- Undercover User Experience Design by Cennydd Bowles and James Box ($19.79)
A subscription to Lucidchart makes the perfect gift for the UX professional. 🙂
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Can I be really cheeky and suggest another site to take it to 10?
I’ve just started http://uxtees.co.uk as I wanted some cool UX T-shirts but struggled to find any.
The 50 Shades of Mobile Tees are going down quite well at the moment.