The tools do not make a designer. The tools can, however, help inspire and make a designer more efficient. This is why most of the graphic and web designers I know choose to use Macs, Firefox or Safari, and Photoshop. Could they accomplish the same things using a Windows based PC, Internet Explorer and MS Paint? Probably. But they’ve chosen to work with tools that were designed to allow them to create.
When a runner has a bad shoe, the fit isn’t quite right, the arch might be too low, or it may be heavier than it should be. It might even hurt a bit. It gets noticed. With a great shoe, a runner shouldn't have to worry about the quality or fit and can just focus on running. A designer should be able to just focus on designing. Tools for designers need to be great running shoes.
As a business owner, I’ve found a few things that follow this same mentality. Things that just work and let me run my business. Basecamp is one, using a CPA instead of doing my own taxes is another, and more recently, Dropbox has become a third.
Here’s a few ways Dropbox has made my life as a designer, and a business owner, a little better.
Note: if you're unfamiliar with Dropbox, it is essentially a tool that backs up your files to "the cloud" and synchronizes them across any of your internet connected devices. I highly recommend that you check out their quick intro video. Not only is it an amazing service, but the video is a great example of explaining something very technical in a non-technical way.
Working with same files across computers
This is the obvious use case, and the purpose of Dropbox. I was using a combination of JungleDisk with Amazon S3 for backup. This was a great system, but it meant if I needed to work on a file at home, I'd download it from the S3 account, which was pretty simple, work on it, save it, then re-upload it. When I got to work, I needed to be sure to grab the file off S3 before it was overwritten by the automatic daily backup I had going on.
Which brings me to another issue: backups happened either on a daily basis (I did first thing in the morning), or manually if I knew I needed something that evening. Not really ideal, but still better than loading files onto a thumb drive or an iPhone for transport.
With Dropbox, files are synced automatically and immediately. This means I don't have to think about which files I'll need, or which version is most recent.
Collaboration
Sharing files and folders is another big part of Dropbox. This makes collaboration on most any design project much simpler than emailing files or uploading to Basecamp. Any folder outside the public folder can be shared with another Dropbox user (files inside the public folder can be shared with anyone). So, if I had a sub-contractor working on one client and an intern working on another - I could simply share the folders with them and I would be able to maintain all the working files and latest versions of each project. Without having to wait on Basecamp uploads or my email storage getting clogged up with .zip files.
For web projects, Dropbox has a built in version control system. It's not as robust as GitHub as far as reviewing changes and commit messages, but there are a few similar capabilities.
Sharing a folder with contextual menus
Quickbooks
I've never liked taking in-studio time to create invoices, but since that's where I had the main install of Quickbooks, it was the only real option. I would put off sending invoices (smart, I know) because it was low on my list of priorities. Having my Artletic business folders in Dropbox means my Quickbooks files are also automagically synced across machines. I can now create invoices while on the couch instead of taking up what should otherwise be billable time in the studio.
Once again, not having to worry about whether a file is current or not has been the big advantage.
Local Web Server Sharing
I'm currently working on a project with a pretty specific local server setup involving Git, Ruby on Rails, a MySQL database, some fancy search server and other stuff. The developer I'm working with got it all up and running on my laptop for me. This was great, except it meant I had to use the 15" laptop instead of the 24" iMac when working on that project. Not horrible, but less than ideal. Especially when it means I have Terminal, Photoshop, Espresso, Safari and Firefox all in use for the same project, at the same time. The extra screen real estate is quite nice.
A combination of Web Sharing, Dropbox, Teleport, and Symlinks (for which I used SymbolicLinker) allows me to have the laptop setup and basically function as the server while I can stretch out and use the iMac for all the actual work.
The cluttered laptop screen
Great Running Shoes
Whether you've been burned by a crashed computer and just need a dead simple backup system or want to take advantage of some exceptionally smart capabilities, I highly recommend Dropbox for any designer, business owner, or person that uses a computer.
$99 for the yearly plan isn't cheap, but peace of mind and functionality it delivers makes it a bargain. Oh, and as a disclaimer, I'm in no way affiliated with Dropbox, I just happen to be a big fan of quality software.
Fun Dropbox Test Project
I put together a quick little "app" for Colorado Ski Trail Maps that takes advantage of Dropbox for the iPhone. The idea you can access the PDF of the trail map on your phone (which, when favorited in the Dropbox iPhone app, downloads and stores it locally - no need for service). It works in WebKit based browsers only (Safari, Mobile Safari, Chrome).
If you want to take advantage of the local storage concept - it unfortunately requires some custom coding. The version I linked to is in my public folder, so you'll only be able to favorite the landing page, not the actual maps. If you want that capability, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and I can give you instructions on the bits of code you'll need to modify.
About The Author
Matt Crest runs a communication design studio in Denver, Colorado. He likes his wife, ampersands, bicycles, and trying to figure things out. Learn More.
