• tooling

This is a non-exhaustive list of the tools I use in my day-to-day operation for design, development, and life as a human. If I’m missing something, let me know!

Hardware

  • Main Computer - 2017 MacBook Pro, 15" Retina, 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 “Kaby Lake”, 16GB RAM, Radeon Pro 555.
  • Backup Computer - 2015 MacBook Pro, 15" Retina, 2.2GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, Intel Iris Pro.
  • Additional Monitors - LG 4K for screen design and browsers/etc. and an LG Ultrawide riding shotgun, vertically-mounted for my IDE.
  • Webcam - Logitech C920 Pro HD
  • Microphone - Blue Microphones Yeti Blackout. Got it for streaming, use it for everything. Just sounds really good, and it’s super versatile.
  • Keys - 60% Vortex Poker II (the USB-C version), Cherry MX Brown (lookin’ at Kailh Box Jade) switches, Tai-Hao Sunshine PBT Doubleshot Keycaps
  • Tracking - Apple Magic Trackpad in Space Grey
  • Phone - Google Pixel 2 (Holding out for the px4).
  • Headphones - Grado SR80e Prestige Series. Super affordable, amazing sound-stage. I’ve recently also started using Sennheiser 650 headphones, which are over-ear (not ideal for stretched ears 😬), but surprisingly comfortable nonetheless and sound great.
  • Luggage - Chrome Niko Pack laptop & camera bag. It’s like bulletproof, effectively waterproof, and looks really tech-wear-y and rad.

Software

  • IDE: VS Code, of course.
    • Theme: City Lights, Nord, or Horizon Light (I know, *GASP*, a light theme) depending on the day (and the time of day).
    • Font: SF Mono with a Fira Code fallback.
    • Must-Have Extensions: GitLens, Prettier, & Vetur.
  • Terminal: I like Hyper.js — recently switched from iTerm almost solely based on the visual customization and JSON-based (instead of GUI) config.
    • Theme: Nord, again.
    • Shell: ZSH — it’s like bash, but…way, way better and more human-usable.
    • Prompt: Used to be a die-hard oh-my-zsh user, but it’s more than I need by a lot. Now I just use Spaceship.
  • Notes/Content - Notion. Notion holds my life together. This blog is published using Contentful.
  • Messaging - I use Telegram to message most folx! I can get rich content messaging like iMessage, and use it on all platforms, can send many types of data, and you can delete message history for both parties. Feel free to add me.
  • UI/Prototype Design - Framer X forever! I recently made the switch from Sketch and have not looked back. The code extensibility makes it a must-have for devsigners 🦄. Figma is also good. I use Figma pretty much exclusively now. It just came down to like one frustrating day of fighting with Framer’s layout tools.
  • 3D Design - Gotta be Cinema 4D. I initially got hooked on it via Devon Ko’s amazing 3D For Designers course and now I can’t stop making weird stuff with it.
  • Memes & One-Off Imagery - Photoshop 😬
  • Vector Art & Iconography - Usually Illustrator, but recently Framer X Figma and Hundred Rabbits’ Dotgrid are actually doing an amazing job (and looking good doing it).
  • Music - Spotify for everything. I have like a billion playlists that are specially curated for different moods, and Spotify actually does a really good job of suggesting music I’ll like.
  • VPN - It’s 2019, please, please, please use a VPN. I prefer Nord (lmao) but any one that you pay for is probably decent.
  • Productivity:
    • Alfred is a replacement for your Spotlight on Mac OS X that supercharges it with all kinds of useful featureset. It’s well worth paying for a license.
    • LastPass for login management. I use 1Password for login management these days!