10 Things UX Geeks Want For Christmas
Jeroen van Geel
on
December 17th, 2009 
The days are getting shorter, the nights longer. The end of the year is approaching, but first we are going to have the best party ever: Christmas. Every year you had the same problem: what to ask Santa? Well, that’s over. Because we put together a list of 10 things that each UX geek wants to ask for Christmas.
Mental Notes
http://getmentalnotes.com/ – cost: $33.00
One of our Johnny rock stars, Stephen Anderson, came up with reference cards called Mental Notes. As he writes on his site “In the midst of a busy project it’s all too easy to forget the nuances that distinguish great products. Mental Notes brings together 50 insights from psychology into an easy reference and brainstorming tool.” Each card is a short, but directly applicable insight.
Notepod
http://notepod.net/ – cost: 3 for $17.95
Did you also attempt to design iPhone apps several times, only to find out that the stuff would never fit on a screen? That frustration is gone forever with Notepads. These are sketchbloks with the exact same dimensions as an iPhone. Isn’t it brilliant?
IdeaPaint
http://www.ideapaint.com/ – cost: $15.00
You can never have enough brainstorm space. And that’s a fact. IdeaPaint can help you get that extra space. It will turn a wall into a huge whiteboard, making it possible for you to scribble your ideas everywhere.
Pulse Smartpen
http://www.livescribe.com/ – cost: $169.95
Every time I go to a conference I write down all those brilliant quotes and ideas the speakers share with me. I even get enough energy to think I will use the text I wrote over and over again… but as soon as I am home reality kicks in and I have to go on with my life, not giving myself the time to digitize my new insights. With the Pulse Smartpen that could be history. This pen writes like any ordinary pen, but at the same time stores everything you wrote digitally. After the conference you can directly read your notes on the screen.
Flip Mino HD
http://www.theflip.com/ – cost: $199.99
As a real UX geek your daily life consists of observing people. How they behave, move, talk, respond… you want to know it all. And if you could record these moments you’d be able to show these user insights to your team. With the Flip Mino HD this is possible, in an extremely small package.
GUI Magnets
http://www.guimagnets.com/ – cost: $19.99
Tired of always drawing those dropdowns and buttons? With GUI Magnets you’ll be able to create prototypes on a whiteboard within seconds, and they’ll even look good. (Also very handy when you are brainstorming in the kitchen.)
Field Notes
http://fieldnotesbrand.com/ – cost: 3-pack $9.95
I always carry a small sketch book with me, ready to be dirtied with my ideas. Over time I tried big books, small, hard cover, soft cover, loads of pages, almost no pages, etc. In the end I came to the conclusion that small books like Field Notes are the best. You can take them everywhere, everytime. And they make me feel like an explorer.
TweetBottle
http://tweetbottle.com/ – cost: $24.95
With TweetBottle’s you have a very hip waterbottle, and you are saving Earth by doing so.
Quote/Unquote bookends
http://aplusrstore.com/ – cost:
Each UX geek must have a huge collection of UX books, especially considering the great amount of books that came out this year. With the Quote/Unquote bookends you’ll be able to show your collection in style.
Sharpie markers
http://www.sharpie.com/ – cost: $2
What do I need to say about Sharpies? These aren’t pens… they are our magic wand. Without them we would be unable to draw our brilliant interactions. So make sure you get loads of these, mainly because they constantly get stolen by jealous colleagues.
Top image by: stephend9
December 17th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Sharpies are great–but Stainless Steel Sharpies are where it’s at!
http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Stainless-Permanent-Marker-1747388/dp/B001V9LQLG
We gave this as part of our speaker gifts for IDEA this year, and they were raved about!
December 18th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by johnnyholland: New on JH Magazine: 10 Things UX Geeks Want For Christmas http://is.gd/5rtoo...
December 18th, 2009 at 8:31 am
[...] Tweets about this great post on TwittLink.com [...]
December 18th, 2009 at 10:06 am
not really a x-mas present, but it has impressed most of the clients i’ve worked with
http://bit.ly/7OZVTp
It’s basically a flip-chart, but you can take it everywhere you go — it sticks to any surface. havent seen in outside germany.
December 18th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
The whiteboard paint is a great idea, but difficult in practice. First, you need to paint the wall at least three times with this very expensive stuff to create a surface that is slick enough. Second, unless you’re wall is ABSOLUTELY flat, you’ll have problems erasing it – marker dust gets caught in small valleys. Granted, you can use a cloth to wipe it down, but it’s tough to get it really clean.
December 18th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
My comments refer to plastered walls. Drywall is easier to convert into a workable whiteboard.
December 19th, 2009 at 1:03 am
[...] Johnny Holland – It’s all about interaction » Blog Archive » 10 Things UX Geeks Want For Christm… (tags: ux gifts inspiration) [...]
December 19th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Thank you, it’s very admirable story about this topic it might be very obliging for students.
Recently i needed buy resume. To my greatest surprise, resume was honest the price I paid for it.
December 21st, 2009 at 5:05 am
Note, the GUI magnets are $45, not $19.99.
December 21st, 2009 at 11:21 am
[...] 10 things UX geeks want for Christmas, from Johnny Holland. I like the Mental Notes reference cards: “In the midst of a busy project it’s all too easy to forget the nuances that distinguish great products. Mental Notes brings together 50 insights from psychology into an easy reference and brainstorming tool. [...]
December 22nd, 2009 at 9:34 pm
[...] inspirerende links: Wat JohnnyHolland.com voor Kerst wilt: sharpies! (37s vertelde waarom), Adaptive Path’s tools of the trade en over Sketchboards, the fine art [...]
December 28th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
You gotta include these UI Stencils! They have iPhone and Web
http://www.uistencils.com/
December 31st, 2009 at 4:02 pm
The whiteboard paint is a great idea, but difficult in practice. First, you need to paint the wall at least three times with this very expensive stuff to create a surface that is slick enough. Second, unless you’re wall is ABSOLUTELY flat, you’ll have problems erasing it – marker dust gets caught in small valleys. Granted, you can use a cloth to wipe it down, but it’s tough to get it really clean.
January 5th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
[...] 10 Things UX Geeks Want For Christmas (johnnyholland.com) [...]