What design gear would you buy if given $1000?
We all have a few things on our personal wish list that we want, but can’t buy for whatever reason. Since it is depressing to think about things we can’t have, lets lighten the mood a little by doing a littler pretending.
Lets, for a moment, pretend that one of our clients was so pleased with the job we had just done for them, that they bought us a $1000 Amazon gift card to show their appreciation. The only catch is that it has to be some sort of design related gear that will help you run your business smoother or help make you better at what you do.
You are free to buy as many things as you want, you just have to keep it under $1000. After all, you aren’t made of money.
For the sake of this experimentation in imagination, lets use the Amazon Computer Category as our baseline for setting the price. Don’t get to caught up in the specifics of each item. I’m just more interested in what tickles your fancy.
Image was purchased from Shutterstock Images
55 Comments
Wacom Intuos4 Large Pen Tablet- $429.00
Canon CanoScan 8800F Color Film/Negative/Photo Scanner $162.00
Apple Mighty Mouse Wireless Kit $63.99
that’s all I really need or want right now
I would suggest staying away from the Mighty Mouse and get a Logitech Revolution (or whatever it’s called).. I had the Mighty Mouse for awhile and the precision just wasn’t the same as the Logitech..
The Mighty Mouse scroller is a pain! All 3 mouses I’ve used (2 wired, 1 wireless) had the same problem with it being stuck.
I would go for a Macbook. That’s about it. Sorry, boring answer!
ASUS VW246H 24″ = Widescreen LCD Monitor - $216.99…so I can see better
Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro = Wireless Keyboard-Mouse Combination - $94.95…so I can feel better
Logitech X-540 5.1 Speaker System - $75…so I can hear better
Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless All-In-One Photo Printer - $189.97…so I can print better
Iomega Prestige 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34275 - $99.99…so I can backup better
Acer Aspire One AOD150-1920 10.1-Inch Ruby Red Netbook - $299.99…so that I can work better on the road
Quite a good yield for $976.89! Thanks for this interesting thought experiment.
I’d get a Wacom Intuos4 Large Pen Tablet to replace my very old Graphire and Samsung Touch Of Color T260HD 25.5-Inch LCD HDTV Monitor to replace my 19″ Acer.
Wacom Cintiq 18sx
I’d have to go for a Wacom Cintiq 12WX Pen Display. Drawing/painting right on the screen with pressure sensitivity, priceless. But really it’s $899.99
Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Mouse, because the clutch driven scroll wheel is the best thing since sliced bread… and it’s wireless - $59.99
Thin Apple Keyboard, like the macbooks, because typing on anything else now feels like work - $49.00
I think I went a little over, but I’d happily kick in the extra 10 bucks for this package.
I’d instantly grab a Cintiq. Got everything else I need.
A good SLR, or as good as I can get for only $1000
I love photography but I can in no way afford good equipment. Mine was made in the 1960s soo.. yeah lol
Probably a Cintiq…I’m dying for a tablet like that. Might just get the Intous 4 and then another 2 TB raid drive for photos
I would have to get two ASUS VW266H 25.5-Inch Wide LCD Monitor @ $282.70 a piece because you can never go wrong with dual monitors, especially big ones.
Also, a Wacom Intuos4 Large Pen Tablet @ $429.00 because my current bamboo small is just too small.
Those things would definitely make designing much easier/more comfortable for me.
tokina 12-24 :420usd for wide
tokina 100-300 : 200usd for street life
nikon 50 1.8 mf: 150usd for portrait
ipod touch 16gb: 230usd
I would buy a wacom since my old one broke down a while back.. And I could really use a new Mighty Mouse to
And I could probably need some paper and pens to 
(I always draw my designs there first)
I’d pick up a Wacom Cintiq 12wx and a portable hard drive! Heaven! I could stop using the little Bamboo pen tab that I’ve got….
A wacom Cintiq, a portable hard drive and lots of traditional art materials like markers, tech pens, inks. Mmmm…
Definitely a Wacom tablet, just not sure which one, as I haven’t the $$ to dream about it.
I’d be quite happy with any of these babies:
Wacom Intuos4 Large Pen Tablet
Iomega Prestige 1.5 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34474
HP Color Laserjet CP1215 Printer
or just this:
Wacom Cintiq 12WX 12-Inch Pen Display $899.99
This is one cool post/experiment! Cheers!
Curse you for making me daydream!
Wacom Intuos4 large: $437 or extra large: $680
Apple Keyboard kit: $49
Printer: I can’t pick one out. Expect it to cost a few hundred.
Or I might ditch the printer and the computer accessories and buy another valuable computer accessory in a different category: digital cameras.
I currently have an old Canon A75. It’s a great little camera. What would be the next step short of dSLR? Or should I go dSLR? I’m not super serious, but I would like the very best photography I can get for the price.
Whoa, I hadn’t read any comments before posting. We all want Wacom tablets!
a canon 50D will do for, is it the money enough for my wish?
Nothing PC related. I went MAC and I will never go back.
This is an interesting post.
I notice a lot of you would like the Intuos 4 tablet. I have to say I absolutely love it.
I actually bought it during a spending spree when it first came out. It’s a little over $1000, but at the time I bought the Wacom tablet and the Apple 24″ display made for the new MacBook Pros. That puts the total at around $1300, but it was worth every penny.
I have to go the boring route, too. I’d put it towards a Macbook…
Easy…
1 x ‘Yard-o-Led’ pencil, then probably (sadly) only one good Nikon 2.8 lens, prob used. The rest on good beer for ‘inspiration’
Probably a boring answer, but I think I’d purchase a MacBook too or a good DSLR and some software, not sure yet.
2 x HP LP2475w Black 24″ H-IPS LCDs
1 x PANTONE Huey Pro
Wacom Intuos4 Medium Pen Tablet $321
HP Color LaserJet 4600DN Printer (Refurb) $270
ASUS VH236H 23-Inch Monitor $189
Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard $135
EMTEC C200 Pro Series 32 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive $60
Logitech LS21 2.1 Stereo Speaker $30
damn i’m going to have to $5 of my own money
@ Casey i have this mouse it is an excellent rodent indeed
i ‘d have a Casio XJ-S52 Projector i dont think projectors are utilised enough
just need a white wall thenimage size is massive like 1.52 i think thats about 59 ” fairly large for photoshop imagins how cool that wil be
I would probably have to be boring and opt for a refurb macbook pro - teeny size. Probably what I’ll be dropping soon after the new year with all my hard earned freelancing money
can a swanky new office chair count as design gear?
I will go to Express T-shirts store and AX to buy some stuffs
I think I Would go for a Pentax SLR and by some accessories with the change if there is any, not sure what the exchange rate is but an SLR is about £500 in the UK. I already have everything else! Maybe I would put it towards a digital HD camera and start getting into film.
Great post, how much did you pay to have someone write it for you?
Your message…
Muy buen blog de diseño! great blog! thanks from Argentina.
I would go for an Apple macbook, this one : Apple MacBook MB466LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
My desk is already pretty well spec’d, but a Wacom Cintiq-21ux would be definitely make my wish list along with a few new books full of inspiration and a new office chair… the wheels on this thing are crap.
Yeah. I think I’d go for one of those super expensive, ergonomic office chairs.
a Wacom Intuos4 medium pen tablet ($315)
ASUS EEE PC ($378)
ASUS 26″ Full HD Monitor ($317)
Grand total; $1010 (argh, I went over with 10 bucks.. ah well, I’ll pay them)
I know the purpose of the post.. You’re giving the most original submission a $1000 gift card for amazon! AREN’T YOU!?
I have two Wacom tablets, Intuos 3 and Intuos 4.
So I can’t say another tablet…and I’m looking forward for a Cintiq 21UX which is beyond a $1000 so probably I’ll go with a:
Nikon 105mm F2.8 VR lens for $899.95 (I have had my eye on this for sometime now…awesome lens, super sharp and perfect for macros and portraits)
then an Airbrush for my Intuos 4 tablet: $99.95 (Can’t wait to try the airbrush on the intuos 4)
That’s mine!
I would ditch my PC, get a Mac, and start getting new adobe products for the Mac (thats the main reason I have not switched to Mac as of yet).
Beautiful website by the way!
But I think I would get a better monitor with 1000 bux.
I will buy an Iphone and or a brand new laptop worth $1,000
Im gonna buy a Apple MacBook : )
Funny, this is a list I should seriously think about. And it’s great seeing all these ideas.
I would probably get a better / larger tablet, and then save the rest for a faster computer. Although I would still stick to a laptop.
I would go with Apple MacBook for 989$ as I’ve always wished I could do work outside of home.
$1000? that doesn’t buy a lot these days (at least on my wish list). I’d have to pull another grand from somewhere and get the big Cintiq.
If i didn’t get the Cintique i’d put it towards a nice SLR like the 40D.
Ooops! Cintique = Cintiq
1. Net and PSD Tuts Plus Membership (It’s cheap, but I’ve been lazy) .
2. Apple 24″ Widscreen Display (*Drooling*)
3. Serious set of bose speakers (*Cough: for inspiration*).
4. “Little Snapper” application.
5. Intoos 4 WAhkom Tablet. (Because the ladies love it.)
Well, if I were a designer (and darn, I wish I was… :D), I definitely would want a desktop computer first since computers at home are really crappy and outdated. I believe a notebook just wouldn’t cut, and that a good computer is the most essential gadget a designer needs. HP desktop PCs look nice, and I know that it’s even nicer on the inside.
I would buy a good camera. Right now I am rocking a point and shoot hp.. Then if there was any left over, a new desk chair.
Wacom Intuos3 6 x 8-Inch Pen Tablet, EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GTX 275 896 MB DDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card, and Epson Stylus NX515 WiFi Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer (C11CA48231).
I’m going to be a little cliché here and say that some of the money would go towards a Wacom graphics tablet. The rest, however, would be funds towards buying an iMac. Designing websites is getting more and more difficult on my laptop for several different reasons and it’s starting to become a real hinderance to my work and efficiency. Woops!
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