A Few Of Our Favorite Tools, Products, Supplies, And Books: You’ll Want Them Too!

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The holiday season is over, but everyone still needs gift ideas for their favorite someone year-round. When it comes to the things we love to use, our team has a few ideas for making your shopping list a little easier this year — especially if you're buying for a fellow "Hartist" or the artistic-minded friend in your life.

Check out some of the amazing tools, products, supplies, and books our team circled for Santa this year:

Art Tools & Supplies

You can never have too many sketchbooks, pens, markers, and brushes at the ready when inspiration strikes. Our team loves these sketchbooks from Moleskine, as well as Sharpie's water-based acrylic markers. Check out some of the other tools and supplies our team is using.

• Holbein Artist Gouache Set — Rich pigment paints with vivid color and excellent light resistance

• Micro Fineliner Drawing Pens — Detailed linework pens with waterproof archival ink

• Pitt Artist Pens — Premium quality brush and fineliner set that works on a variety of surfaces

• Water Brushes — Dual-tip refillable water brush pens that are easy to use and clean

• WRITECH Retractable Fountain Pen — Refillable, easy-click pen for journaling

• XPPen 22R Pro Drawing Tablet — Professional digital drawing display with stylus

Creatives Office & Tech Tools

When Hartists like us get to work, we need the right tools for the job — and we're always excited to share what's working for us around the office and at our desk, like this docking workstation hub or this portable multiscreen monitor. Here are some of the other office solutions we're loving this year.

• Ergonomic Mouse — Designed to keep you comfortable on those long workdays

• Adjustable Office Chair — Built with ergonomic support for creatives at their desks

• Programmable Mechanical Macropad — Customize your own shortcuts for editing and design

• Supernote Manta Digital Notebook — Take notes and sketch with this e-ink device

• Portable Document Scanner Wand — Quickly digitize sketches or notes

• Projector with Bluetooth & Rotation — Perfect for presentations or ambient creative sessions

• Incase Edge MacBook Hardshell — Tough laptop protection for on-the-go creatives

• Elago Apple Pencil Sleeve — Comfortable grip and protection for your Pencil

Books For Creatives & Entrepreneurs

When there's snow outside, there's nothing better than curling up with a great book — and for our team of hartists, we're always looking to get inspired. This holiday season, we have our eyes on a few interesting reads to get the creative juices flowing in 2026, whether it's this step-by-step illustration guide for learning facial proportions and expressions or this cross-disciplinary collection of more than 100 art assignments to challenge artists of all stripes and skill levels. Here are some other books we have on our list this season.

• Let Them Theory — An empowering look at transforming our mindsets and motivations

• Traction by Gino Wickman — A new angle on building systems for creative businesses

• 12-Hour Walk — Reset your mindset in one day with this powerful journey

• Clockwork  — Design your creative business to run itself with this step-by-step guide

Organization & Planning

Let's face it, we all need to stay organized. It might even be a New Year's resolution for some (or many!), so it's always important to think of ways to plan ahead and keep things straight. One thing our team loved this year was this 18-month desk calendar from Guasslee — simple, minimalist, clean, with a handy to-do list on the side.

Creative Extras & Inspo Finds

When you're jamming on a project or just trying to chill out and feel inspired, it's the little things that go a long way. We loved these extras for your workspace, like these noise reduction earplugs for focus, or this beautiful collection of more than 100 typefaces and classic lettering styles. And hey, you can't go wrong with a little Picasso on your desk, right?

For Little Artists!

If there's a little artist in your life, look no further than this Wicked-themed hardcover journal with more than 180 pages in shades of pink and green with a satin placeholder ribbon. And if your little artist is more of a maker than a writer, check out this play modeling dough in six assorted colors — perfect for preschool and older.

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Everything we share here is meant to be helpful and inspiring. We’re speaking from experience. Please consult a qualified professional to help make decisions. You are responsible for how you choose to use this information, and we are not liable for any loss, damages, or issues that may arise. We can’t be responsible for how things play out, but we’re always rooting for your success!

Heads up! This post includes affiliate links. If you purchase some of our favorite things, we may earn a commission. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn't mean we don't really love these products; it just means if you purchase through our links, Amazon might pay an artist, too.

Credits

Author: John Flynn

Editor: Jenn Hart (More About Me)

Associate Editor: Sarah Dawoud & Lori Waddell

Art: Sharon Bakas

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Keep creating Hartists! Follow @harthousecreative on Instagram and Linkedin.

Balancing Feedback And Well-Being In Design

Keep Your Sanity (And Your Sparkle) In A High-Feedback World

Design isn’t just about choosing the right color palette or perfecting the kerning. It’s also about navigating the emotional side of the process—the part that doesn’t show up in your portfolio. Balancing deadlines, presenting ideas you’ve poured your heart into, and receiving feedback that pushes you to adjust (again and again) all require emotional energy.

That invisible layer of work—the self-doubt, the patience, the resilience—is what we call emotional labor. And while it’s part of the creative process, if you don’t protect your emotional bandwidth, it can sneakily lead to burnout, fatigue, and even a little imposter syndrome.

The Burnout Buffet

Here’s the thing: burnout rarely shows up as a dramatic “I’m done!” moment. It creeps in like a slow leak:

• You’re exhausted but still say “yes” to one more revision.

• You feel like a fraud even though your portfolio is stacked.

• You open Figma and instantly want a nap.

  
  

That’s creative fatigue. And it’s real. The constant give-give-give of ideas, patience, and flexibility adds up. Emotional labor is the hidden tax on creativity, and if you don’t protect yourself, it’ll drain you faster than a client who “just wants a quick change.”

Protect Your Emotional Bandwidth (Designer Edition)

So how do you stay sane, sparkly, and still deliver the goods? Here are a few not-boring, actually-doable strategies:

1. Boundaries Are Design Elements Too

Every good design has margins. Your life should, too. But how do you actually build them?

• Decide your “office hours.” Even if you freelance or work from home, set realistic windows of availability. Example: “I take calls Tues–Thurs between 10 and 3.” Communicate it clearly to clients and stick to it.

• Put boundaries in writing. Add a line in your contracts about how many revisions are included or how long feedback windows stay open. Boundaries are easier to enforce when they’re spelled out up front.

• Use tools to enforce them. Calendly for scheduling, Slack “do not disturb” hours, or even an email signature that says when you reply. The clearer you are, the less awkward it feels.

  
  

Boundaries aren’t about being rigid. They’re about keeping your brain from spilling over the edges of the page.

2. Feedback ≠ Self-Worth

Feedback is fuel. But sometimes it feels like fire. Here’s how to filter it without burning out:

• Look for patterns. If three different people comment on clarity, it’s probably something worth adjusting. One-off comments about personal taste? Not so much.

• Separate role from self. Feedback is about the work you created, not about you as a human being. Write it down if you need to: “They’re critiquing pixels, not me.”

• Ask clarifying questions. Instead of stewing on vague notes (“It needs more pop”), ask what “pop” means to them—color, contrast, energy? Specificity makes feedback useful.

• Keep a “praise file.” Save screenshots of positive feedback, kind words, and past wins. It balances the emotional ledger when critique starts to weigh too heavily.

3. Micro-Recharges Beat Macro-Meltdowns

Waiting until vacation to rest is like waiting until your computer crashes to hit save. Build micro-recharges into your daily and weekly rhythm:

• The 90-minute reset. Science says our brains focus best in 90-minute bursts. When that window closes, step away. Walk, stretch, grab coffee—anything to reset.

• Play outside your lane. Doodle, photograph, paint, or try something creative with zero stakes. Play refreshes your brain in a way scrolling never will.

• Give yourself sensory breaks. Change your environment—step into fresh air, turn down the screen brightness, switch playlists. Small shifts rewire your energy.

  
  

These mini-refuels prevent the bigger crashes that take days—or weeks—to recover from.

4. Build Your Creative Hype Squad

No one thrives in isolation. Feedback-heavy environments are much easier to handle when you’ve got people in your corner.

• Find your “feedback translators.” Peers who can help you reframe confusing or harsh notes into constructive takeaways.

• Create a vent-then-shift routine. Share frustrations privately with trusted friends, then pivot to action. It gets the emotions out of your system without festering.

• Join communities. Whether it’s a Slack group, local meet-up, or online forum, being around other creatives who “get it” normalizes the ups and downs of the process.

• Celebrate together. Wins feel bigger (and losses sting less) when you share them with people who speak the same creative language.

  
  

Your hype squad doesn’t just cheer you on—they remind you that you’re not the only one navigating the emotional rollercoaster of creative work.

Emotional labor is baked into creative work, but it doesn’t have to bake you. The more you treat your emotional well-being as part of your design practice (not an afterthought) the better your work (and your life) will feel.

Your creativity isn’t a bottomless well. Protect it, refill it, and remember: you’re not just designing deliverables, you’re designing a career worth sustaining.

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Everything we share here is meant to be helpful and inspiring. We’re speaking from experience. Please consult a qualified professional to help make decisions. You are responsible for how you choose to use this information, and we are not liable for any loss, damages, or issues that may arise. We can’t be responsible for how things play out, but we’re always rooting for your success!

Credits

Author: Hannah Heine

Editor: Jenn Hart (More About Me)

Associate Editor: Sarah Dawoud

Art: Sharon Bakas

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Subscribe to The Squeeze on our little piece of the internet to get design promotions, resources, stories about other creatives, and inspiration for your eyeballs and brainstorms.

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Keep creating Hartists! Follow @harthousecreative on Instagram and Linkedin.

The Weight Of Design Decisions

Avoiding Mental Overload For You And Your Users

Making design decisions without considering cognitive load is like hitting the buffet line with zero restraint. A little of this, a little of that, and suddenly the plate (or the page) is a sloppy mountain that makes no sense together. When everything screams for attention, nothing actually gets it.

When users open a website, app, or even a printed menu and get hit with too many fonts, colors, buttons, or calls-to-action, their brains do the same thing your stomach did at the buffet—they get overwhelmed. This is cognitive load, the psychological term for the strain on our working memory when we try to process too much at once.

And here’s the kicker: a user who feels overwhelmed doesn’t just bounce, they might never come back.

Why Designers Should Care About Cognitive Load

Your job isn’t just to make things look good (though yes, you’re fabulous at that). Your job is to make things work. And when users are overwhelmed, confused, or frustrated, the design has failed…even if it’s drop-dead gorgeous.

Think of cognitive load as invisible clutter. The kind that doesn’t show up in your Figma file but trips people up all the same. Every unnecessary flourish, every redundant step, every too-clever interaction is one more thing between the user and the thing they came for.

Tips For Designing With The Brain In Mind

1. Cut the noise. Simplify navigation, minimize options, and don’t make people play “Where’s Waldo?” with your CTA.

2. Use hierarchy like a boss. Headlines, subheads, color, and spacing should guide the eye naturally, not fight for attention.

3. Chunk it up. Break complex information into bite-sized, scannable pieces. (Your users are skimmers. Embrace it.)

4. Design for real humans. Test with actual users, not just your designer BFF who already knows where the “Buy Now” button lives.

5. Remember: whitespace is power. Give those pixels room to breathe—it’s like yoga for your layout.

   
   

This Month’s Design Prompt

Take a piece of your past work (the busiest, most over-stuffed one you’ve got) and redesign it with cognitive load in mind. Pretend your user has five seconds of attention and one ounce of patience. What do you cut, simplify, or restructure to make it effortless?

Share it, tag it, cringe at the “before” if you must, but most importantly, learn how to do more with less.

At the end of the day, designing with cognitive load in mind isn’t about stripping away the fun...it’s about making your work (and your life) flow better. The easier you make things for your users, the easier you make things for yourself. Call it self-care for design: cut the clutter, keep the clarity, and let your creativity breathe.

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Everything we share here is meant to be helpful and inspiring. We’re speaking from experience. Please consult a qualified professional to help make decisions. You are responsible for how you choose to use this information, and we are not liable for any loss, damages, or issues that may arise. We can’t be responsible for how things play out, but we’re always rooting for your success!

Credits

Author: Hannah Heine

Editor: Jenn Hart (More About Me)

Associate Editor: Sarah Dawoud

Art: Sharon Bakas

---

Popular Related Articles

• Inclusivity Is A Creative Power Move

• Why The Boldest Brands in Hospitality Are Partnering With Design Studios

• Insider Advice on Pitching And Thriving in The Creative Industry

---

Subscribe to The Squeeze on our little piece of the internet to get design promotions, resources, stories about other creatives, and inspiration for your eyeballs and brainstorms.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Keep creating Hartists! Follow @harthousecreative on Instagram and Linkedin.