40 Christmas Gift Ideas for the Design Nerds in Your Life

While Christmas is apparently the most wonderful time of the year, it can also be one of the most confusing: that’s usually largely down to all-hours boozing becoming the norm, and the festive tradition of rendering ourselves catatonic for roughly ten days due having filled ourselves entirely with things that are beige. But this year, it’s getting even more confusing, what with all the households and exceptions and more bubble chat than Professor Burp’s Bubble Works. However, we’re making at least one thing a little easier for you, we hope—gift-buying. 

We’ve rounded up 40—yes, 40—beautiful, useful, cute and charming bits and bobs for creatives, by creatives. And no, we didn’t hit on that number just because we got confused between Lent and Jesus’ other starring role, his very own birth.

Magazines

1: TYPEONE Magazine, issue 1, £12.99TYPEONE is the debut mag from our new In Perpetuum model of publishing—a spin on the now-familiar crowdfunding model for indie mags that lets readers back new projects by pre-ordering issues, and encourages budding mag-makers to submit their projects in the hope of becoming a supported fundraising campaign. As the title suggests, TYPEONE is all about typography, but situating the discipline within broader areas such as business, technology, innovation and global issues; as well as more natural bedfellows like graphic design, 3D design and animation and many more. 

2: Scenic Views, issue 2, £10Scenic Views is a fascinating little publication from Elephant deputy editor Louise Benson and photographer Lorena Lohr that describes itself as “an interiors magazine that focuses on the everyday, the overlooked and the forgotten.” The stories it uncovers through that precise and unusual lens are truly beautiful, and ones which you’d be unlikely to find elsewhere.

3: Point.51 magazine, issue 3, £12Quarterly publication Point.51 avoids describing itself as a  “news magazine” per se—it simply can’t be, since the news cycle is so rapid—but it also takes the “slow journalism” approach of covering current affairs through long-form writing and photo essays brought to life beautifully, often as full-colour double-spreads. In its third issue, it takes the theme Resilience to cover “stories of untold courage and endurance from across Europe.” 

Design Books

4: Femme Type, £27.99, £20 with student discountNow printed in its second edition, Femme Type is an all-women publication put together by Amber Weaver that celebrates more than 40 women from across the world working in typography and type design.

5: Artefacts From The Punch Card Era, published by Centre Centre, usually £30, sale price £24If it’s from Centre Centre, the publisher founded by designer Patrick Fry, you can pretty much guarantee it’s going to be a belter of a book. For print history nerds, Artefacts From The Punch Card Era is both superbly designed, and a fascinating insight into the bygone era when data was physical in the form of computer punch cards, the now-obsolete method of data storage and processing from the 1890s until the late 1970s.

6: Tauba Auerbach — S v Z, $50.00/£37.51Having apprenticed and worked as a sign painter at New Bohemia Signs in San Francisco, where she grew up, Tauba Auerbach has a longstanding pull toward letterforms. Many of the 130 pieces featured in this hefty book are compositions that explore the properties that make up letters and symbols; which showcase the artist’s mathematician-like geometrical precision.

Homeware

7: Pylon Ceramics, ceramic cup, £15All pieces from Pylon Ceramics are inspired by the business’s east London location—namely, the flora of Hackney Marshes (and of course, its pylons). We can’t get enough of the pink speckled glaze (inspired by blackberry ice cream, says Pylon Ceramics founder Kat) on this small cup/planter, which has a gorgeous sense of tactility and a sort of tough but cute vibe.

8: Booze House Tales Mug, £12.50Online “pub enthusiast” Booze House Tales firmly shakes off the hipsterish “craft beer” BS with its hilarious podcast, YouTube channel and the Instagram feed where it all started. Now, it’s got merch: a mug, tee, and, naturally, face masks.

9: Eye Spy Stackable Dishes, by  Bennita Adair George, from £25Brighton based designer/maker Bennita Adair George’s  weirdly cute Eye Spy Stackable Dishes are designed to be used either on their own or mixed and matched with a stack load of different coloured pieces. The jesmonite dishes are handmade and available in mint green, peach, white, peach marble, mixed pastel marble and lime marble colours; they’re great for plants or for storing wee bits and bobs like jewellery, cufflinks and stationery.

10: Rory’s Face Vase, by Group Partner, £65.00 We really can’t get enough of Rory’s face, whoever Rory is based. Rory—who can hold plants, desk-based gubbins and so on, or just act as a sweet decoration—was created by Brooklyn-based ceramic studio Group Partner, founded by Isaac Nichols.  

11: Bread Plate, by Charlotte Mei, £45.00 As a longtime fan of Charlotte Mei’s adorable ceramics, I went a bit gooey seeing the little bread plate, Each one of the glazed earthenware plates “shaped like a sleepy bread,” as she puts it, are unique and handmade in her London studio.

12: Ilex Studio, Avocado Vase, £35.00 London-based “art world turned eco-design studio” Ilex Studio have created the innovative Avocado Vase (there’s also an acorn version) in which an acorn or avocado seed is suspended over a glass bowl-style vase that magnifies their roots. The idea is that once they’ve outgrown the vase, they can be planted to keep the cycle going.

13: Cult of Rae, “Joyous Dance” Upcycled Decorative Skateboard, £80 The artist and activist Cult of Rae founder creates works across painting, music, spoken word, activism and events curation that collectively aim to “to transcend barriers such as language, sex, culture, neurodiversity and mental health,” and their upcycled skateboard piece Joyous Dance is no exception. As part of their Bodies Collection series, the design celebrates diversity and inclusivity. Note it’s not for riding, but wall-hanging only.

Pins

14: Grotesque gift box badge set, by Struktur Design on Stereohype, £7.95 If there were ever a set of button badges for type-nerds, this is it. Comprising  Grotesque (set in Coign Pro 15 Medium), Geometric (set in Futura Bold), Modern (set in Walbaum Medium) and Slab (set in ITC Lubalin Graph Bold); the set was designed by London-based graphic design consultancy Struktur Design for Stereohype’s B.I.O. (By Invitation Only) Button Badge Series 19.

15: Dick in a box, by Dicks Don’t Lie, £8.00 Possibly not one for your nan, unless she’s particularly open-minded, there’s not too much to say about this badge: it’s like a Jack-in-a-box, but with Jack replaced with a dick. Lovely stuff.

16: Happy Squeegee Pin, £6.00Colourful chipper and perfectly in the realm of print-nerdery, this is a very adorable little pin for the grubby screen-printer in your life.

17: It Is Garfield Pin, by Natty Peterkin, £6.00Artist and illustrator by day, musician by night Natty Peterkin was the winner of the Pinbadges site’s 2020 lockdown competition, and with this remarkable likeness of everyone’s fav lasagne-loving cat we can see why.

Graphic Novels

18: I Want You by Lisa Hanawalt, published by Drawn and Quarterly, £19.99Who doesn’t love Lisa Hanawalt? The woman behind the production design of Bojack Horseman and a tonne of other brilliant stuff recently published this  book, which draws together her hilarious/gross/weird/all of the above comics from early in her career. It’s a total joy.

19: The Contradictions by Sophie Yanow, published by Drawn and Quarterly, £13.99 The Contradictions by Sophie Yanow, an artist and writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, draws together her webcomics of the same name into a touching, sweet and poignant book. It tells of her highly relatable assumption that running away to somewhere else, to do something different, will make life immediately more brilliant.

20: The Artist: The Circle of Life by Anna Haifisch, published by Breakdown Press, £16.99Originally a serialised comic for Vice, The Artist was first released in book form in 2016 and in its new equally brilliant follow-up our protagonist is the same strange, wiry half-swan, half-crane artist. While we see the occasional up, it’s mostly about the downs—self-doubt, struggle for recognition, creative block, weird families, love and loss and depression. The usual stuff, just in a deliciously absurdist yet moving way.

21: Simon Hanselmann, Bad Gateway, published by Fantagraphics, £25.99 Simon Hanselmann’s most recent book in his Megg, Mogg and Owl series, Bad Gateway, was published by Fantagraphics last year, and sees those characters (sans-Owl, for the most part, who’s been replaced by the far more negative presence of Werewolf Jones, a dog-shaped, drug-addled, child-neglecting Bad Influence) spiral deeper into their already familiar drug use, mental illness, relationship struggles, and general chaotic life-choices.

22: Graham Coxon’s graphic novel compendium, Superstate, $29.99/£22.48Former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon has worked with NY publisher Z2 Comics to create Superstate, a compendium graphic novel featuring 15 graphic artists and an original fully-illustrated score. The 15 stories and accompanying visuals were each created to pair with an individual track. According to Coxon,, Superstate is a “story of escape… In a society where war rages between the forces, negativity and positivity, encouragement and discouragement… The fragile road to freedom burns its way through the far reaches of space…”

Clothes and Accessories

23: Himaa Black Long Sleeve T-Shirt, by Hato in collaboration with artist Masanao Hirayama (AKA Himaa) , £45.00 In collaboration with Hato Store, artist Masanao Hirayama (AKA Himaa) has designed a small collection of t-shirts as part of the Hato ‘Thank You’ collection. Simple but slightly off-beat, the design veers somewhere between hope, despair and wry humour.

24: Poor Simon T Shirt, Turbo Island, £22.00 It’s nigh-on impossible to choose from Turbo Island’s ever-incredible collection of tees, but this is an oldie but a goodie: a hilarious spin on Paul Simon’s Graceland cover, for the budget conscious. Yup, it’s Poor Simon’s Poundland.

25: Smash Fascism T Shirt, by Juppi Juppsen, sold on Everpress, £25.00Awesome illustrator/animator and all-round superdude Juppi Juppsen has created this image for artist-led tee site Everpress, and not only is the image and pink popping colour palette sublime, but 100% of the proceeds will go to Stand Up To Racism UK, the Black Curriculum, Refugee Council & StopWatch UK.

26: Pony Bacon Tote Bag by Trixie-Malixie, £13.56Billed as the perfect Christmas gift for the vegan in your life, this bag was created using a photogram: the artist popped a rasher of bacon onto photographic paper and this is the vivid, fat-streaked result. The pony keeps things more animal-friendly.  

Prints

27: Inji Seo, Dog print, £25 Korean illustrator Inji Seo created this image for Elephant magazine’s ten-year anniversary issue, which was themed around self-care and the wellness industry. And really, what could be cuter than a fluffy dog, cuddling a guinea pig, with, er, cockroaches flying off its head…

28: Sarah Boris, One Step print, £60.00 Fresh off the press from London-based graphic designer and artist Sarah Boris is this One Step print, which was inspired by the song One Step Ahead by Aretha Franklin. One of a pair of new prints (see the other here), this is a three-layer hand-pulled screenprint, and each is signed and numbered by the artist.

29: Alice Carman, Colonel Mustard in the Billiard Room with the Lead Piping, £30 Like many of us in lockdown, South London-based artist Alice Carman found herself looking to the kitchen cupboards for inspiration, creating images like this richly textured homage to mustard (and Cluedo). The sense of depth is in part thanks to  the final image on the original painting sitting over a previous abandoned attempt, but mostly down to Carman’s use of knives to apply a mixture of oil and acrylic paints. 

30: Ellie Crawshaw, Tobias Print, £20 Self-taught artist Ellie Crawshaw’s paintings and drawings are inspired by contemporary still life images and her “obsession with pattern.” While much of her lockdown work saw her experiment with different materials and techniques, there’s something incredibly joyful about the simplicity of this lovely little cat, Tobias.

31: Juliana Futter, Shunga A5 Risograph Set, £15.00 Cheeky, playful and a sexy little gift, illustrator and artist Juliana Futter has created this six-print set of A5 two-colour riso prints of shunga (Japanese erotic) images.

32: Bobbi Rae, Nudey Blues A4 Art Print, £12.00 Yorkshire-based Bobbi Rae is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer whose work often delights in the naughty, naked nude. This print has it all: boobs, a pun and sublime illustration work.

Zines

33: Drawings of People with Signs, by Erlend Peder Kvam, published by Nieves, $14/£10.51 Oslo-based Erlend Peder Kvam is an artist, illustrator and editor of Raptus, a new Norwegian journal for contemporary drawing. This offbeat wee zine Drawings of People with Signs is, well, characters with signs at its simplest; a clamour for expression and communication if you choose to see it as such.

34: Some DIY Punk Zines by Olivia Furey, from Good Press, £2.00 This self-published DIY punk zine of DIY punk zines couldn’t really be any more punk or DIY. A hilarious take on the archetypal zine theme, this is the creation of Olivia Furey, an Irish performance/sound artist based in Edinburgh, Scotland who also has a brilliant line of paintings and zines to boot.

35: No.11 ABNORMALITIES by Matt De Jong and Orlando Weeks, £6.00 ABNORMALITIES is a collaboration between artists  Matt De Jong and Orlando Weeks with Hato, where it was printed and published, and is the 11th zine in the Hato Press Zine Series. According to the studio, the project is “a playful exploration of colour and scale” that’s “free from narrative,” but expands on other past work created for former Maccabees frontman Weeks’s record A Quickening.

For Students/Grads

36: What They Don’t Teach You in Design School – Digital Download, freeAvailable as a free download from the good people at Eye on Design, this grad guide was created in collaboration with students at UT Austin’s School of Design + Creative Technologies. It promises to be “your trustiest companion as you contemplate your next move,” and includes advice from industry experts including Zipeng Zhu, Wael Morcos, Meg Lewis, Julian Glander, Karin Fong, and Bijan Berahimi. Topics include perfecting your portfolio, landing your dream job, internship tops and how to set rates and get paid. TBH, it’s probably useful for everyone, however long you’ve been working for,

Charity donations

A few design-related (and thereabouts) charities that you might want to donate to, in lieu of giving a gift to the person you know who quite literally has everything.

37: Designers Available

Designers Available is a project initiated by Joelle Riffle that connects designers interested in contributing their skills in support of nonprofits and community organisations. Donations here are used to help compensate these designers offering their time for free.

38: Women Who Code 

With global reach, the non-profit  Women Who Code aims to promote and inspire women who want to get into engineering and tech. The money from donations goes towards funding training, workshops, hackathons, conferences, technical scholarships and industry conference awards.

39: Mind

A mental health charity in England and Wales that offers information and advice to people with mental health problems and lobbies government and local authorities on their behalf. 

And finally….

40: People of Print Membership

As a little gift from yourself to yourself, why not apply for membership? Our membership plan includes a range of perks aimed at promoting and supporting your work or services to our global audience of print fanatics. The membership is selected entries only in order to build a noteworthy community of members who are leading in the field of print both creatively and industriously, or who are showing exceptional work at the early stages of their print-focused career.