Tools of the Trade

What tools do you use to get your job done on a day to day basis? I’ve been thinking about this more and more often at work. What do you use that improves your productivity? I’ve prepared a list below of things I use on a daily basis… Would love to know what other people are using out there!

Project Management

Basecamp – I use Basecamp at work and for the limited number of independent projects I have on my plate. The fact that I can easily collaborate with clients through Basecamp to see a project through completion is a great thing! Basecamp makes us look more professional, too.

Billing

Blinksale.com – Before BlinkSale, I struggled to remember what invoices I have outstanding. The $6/month I pay for BlinkSale to keep on top of what I have outstanding is more than worth the expense.

Blogging

I use Blogger to publish blog entries. I tend to write most of them in w.Bloggar, a stand-alone app that plays nicely with the Blogger API.

Graphic Design

I use Adobe Creative Suite – PhotoShop CS, Illustrator CS and InDesign CS – for graphic design work. All websites I design start as concepts in PhotoShop or Illustrator.

Web Development

I use Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 for working with code, but I never leave home without Notepad. I figure if you’re going to work with HTML, CSS, etc. you better know how to get your hands dirty.