Gifts for Designers 2026
Got a designer in your life and struggling to find a gift for them? Product designers live and breathe design, spend far too much time at their desks, and hop from car to train to plane for the craft.
Having spent time in design studios worldwide and met some of the most innovative designers, we at DEVELOP3D know what makes a designer tick, so we put together our 2026 Gift Guide with that in mind.
Whatever your budget and wherever they are in the world, you can always sign them up for a free subscription to DEVELOP3D Magazine, or book them a trip to DEVELOP3D LIVE 2027 – Europe’s biggest single-day event for product design and development professionals.
WIN!
To finish off 2026 with a bang, one lucky DEVELOP3D subscriber will win a bundle of items featured on this list. To be in with a chance of winning this prize, make sure you’re subscribed to receive the digital or hard copy versions of DEVELOP3D Magazine, as well as our monthly news mailers, by clicking here. Good luck!
Gifts For Designers
Best gifts for desirable designer desks
Is their desk a marvel of minimalism, or a cluttered mess in need of a saviour? Buy the designer in your life something that matters and make their work time count
1 Ichikudo The Next Journey Calendar 2027, £50
This desk calendar has 12 pages designed as plane tickets, opening to reveal an illustration inspired by the ticket’s destination, taking the aspiring traveller in your life on a trip each month from their desk
2 HP ZBook Fury G1i 18-inch, £4,770
Try the HP ZBook Fury G1i 18-inch for a powerful workstation which balances the office and home desk. Read our full review of the best enterprise workstation laptops 2026 here
3 Wingback mechanical pencil, from £150
Designed in London, this brass beauty will last a lifetime and can feature laser engraved limited edition collaborations – read our full review here
4 Soolla Studio Pouch, £46
Made to carry everything a designer needs, from pens to notebooks, this stationery case is perfect for designers to keep everything together
5 RS-3D S-shaped desk organiser, £18
3D printed to order in Glasgow from a choice of over 50 colours, this interlocking desk tidy will keep the design desk clutter-free
6 Logitech MX Creative Console, £190
Use this customisable dial pad and keypad to expand creative capabilities, whether designing on Adobe, Final Cut Pro or their favourite CAD program
Gifts For Designers
Best gifts for after hours
Everyone has their vices – whether its a gift for Christmas, a birthday present, or even just the office Secret Santa, you can’t go wrong with a designer if you know their downtime staple
7 AlphaTheta HDJ-F9 headphones, £329
Professional on-ear wireless headphones for the out-of-office DJ
8 GAMI Turbo papercraft model car, $100
Take a break from designing on a screen to fold, peel and stick this 21-inch, 1:8 scale model car
9 Bartesian cocktail maker, £300
For the cocktail lover who would rather stay in than go out, this countertop cocktail maker is sure to be a win
10 St Eval luxury floral hamper, £60
Crafted on the clifftops of North Cornwall, this hamper of candles, hand soap, and cream will help anyone unwind after a long day in the studio
11 Salcombe ‘Start Point’ gin, £46
Whether they sip it neat or serve it with tonic, ice and a slice, this award-winning gin is bursting with flavours of fresh red grapefruit, classic juniper and 11 other hand-picked botanicals
12 Tony’s Chocolonely Personalised Bars, from £8
Use the festive templates or go completely custom with your wrappers for these amazingly tasty chocolate bars
Gifts For Designers
Best gifts for long hours designing
It’s a tough job full of late nights and deadlines. So, what’s the best gift to help get them through the grind?
13 Huion Kamvas 22 Plus, £519
The Kamvas 22 Plus is a remarkably good-value second screen which doubles up for detailed pen work, a great addition to anyone’s workflow – read our review
14 Nomad universal cable for Apple Watch, £69
This versatile cable fast-charges an Apple Watch, AirPods, and USB-C device all at once, perfect for charging up during long hours of designing
15 Ember 14oz Mug 3, $150
Keep their late-night coffee at the perfect temperature for hours with a temperature-controlled mug, and when they’re done, stick it in the dishwasher
16 Logitech MX Master 4, £120
Hailed as a great option for complex CAD workflows, this excellent ergonomic option allowing them to customise feedback and intensity and add plugins for 3rd-party apps – check it out in more detail here
17 FlexiSpot E7 Pro, £480
For the work-from-home designer, get them this dual-motor electric standing desk to take the pressure off
18 Elgato Facecam 4K, £195
Enjoy a perfect picture on conference calls with this 60 frames per second webcam
Gifts For Designers
Best gifts for workshop wonders
Physical prototyping is a key part of great design; help them get hands-on with this selection of the best workshop gifts for designers
19 Hozo Hobby Knife, $59
This modular knife set contains 10 blades for cutting, carving, sawing and filing
20 Wera Tool-Check Plus 1, from £70
A compact 39-piece tool set for manual and machine use with a variety of screw connections
21 Knipex Super Knips, £30
Get them these precision pliers for ultra-fine cutting work in electronics and fine mechanics
22 Gedore general-purpose scissors, £79
For straight, continuous and figure cuts with lever action and spring-loaded self-opening and lock
23 Milwaukee Hook & Pick set, from £25
Chrome-plated hook & pick 8-piece set featuring flat, hook, bent 45° and bent 90° angles
24 Proteus Equipment metal marker, £18
Buy this industrial scriber and marking set for scribing, etching, and marking lines or layouts on metal and other hard engineering surfaces
Gifts For Designers
Best gifts for first class travel
Whether it’s a work trip to The West Coast or the West Coast Mainline, some of the best gifts for designers keep them comfortable on their travels
25 Casetify impact iPhone 18 case, £66
This case features an internal EcoShock design engineered to help absorb and disperse force, tested for drop protection up to 8.2 ft and is available in an array of beautiful designs
26 Analogy: SleepMaxxer sleep mask, $35
This sleep mask has a human-centred design which seals out light completely while supporting nasal breathing, staying comfortable for side sleepers, and is washable
27 Suri PRO 2.0, £109
With 34 days of battery life, a UV cleaning case and stunning colourways, this electric toothbrush is already a hit with the D3D team – read all about it here
28 Krafted edge power bank, £149
Delivering 65W, this slimline under-laptop power bank is powerful enough to charge all their devices and is designed to last a lifetime with its replaceable battery
29 Cotopaxi Allpa Del Día Travel Pack, £205
Made using 100% leftover fabric; each one of these 35L packs is one of a kind. Whether they need a durable carry-on, a lightweight backpack, or love sustainable travel gear, this will add a pop of colour to any trip
30 KeepCup commuter 12oz, £32
Try this vacuum-insulated stainless steel travel cup with a leakproof flip lid to keep coffee hot for the whole commute
Gifts For Designers
Best gifts for reading up
Knowledge is power and no designer should be without a carefully selected bookshelf. Struggling with which book to buy? Pick them one from our best books for designers this year
[Order from your local highstreet bookshop]
31 Drawing for Product Designers Second Edition: From Hand Sketching to Virtual Reality – Kevin Henry, £40
Everything a product designer needs to know about drawing – from hand sketching to virtual environments
32 Better Things: Materials for Sustainable Product Design – Daniel Liden, £20
The inside scoop on sustainability and the materials in the products we use
33 From People To Planet – Jo Barnard, £20
A personal and practical exploration of what it means to design with purpose in a world facing social and environmental crisis
34 Designing Dreams – Dick Ruzzin, £25
Essays on the inside story of GM, Harley Earl and America’s Golden Automotive Age
35 One-Of-One: Naito Engineering – Ben Bertucci, £125
The book is a companion to the film, delving deeper into the auto workshop and offering a richer, more intimate look into the Naito family business – read more about it here
36 An Inventor’s Tale – Tom Lawton, £12
Hear from the designer about the improbable story of a life shaped by curiosity, invention, love — and Wonder
All gift guide information is correct at the time of first publication
FAQs: Spark some ideas for what gifts to buy the designer in your life with our advice
What’s a classic gift to buy a designer?
A mechanical pencil – whether it’s for jotting notes, sketching lines or simply filling in a crossword, a solid pencil is a wonderful gift that can last a lifetime. Wingback’s mechanical pencil is a perfect example and can be engraved
What’s the best Secret Santa gift for a designer?
It depends on how low your budget is and who the person is, of course, but typically you can’t go wrong with chocolate like Tony’s Chocolonely, or a classic book
What’s the best birthday gift for a designer?
Travel items can be used for work and play, so make an excellent choice for any birthday weekend away or their next work trip
What’s the gift that will get the most use?
There are a few sleepers in this list that they’ll continue to thank you for long after they’ve binned the wrapping paper – from the Logitech MX Creative Console that will ease the workflow, to the Hozo Hobby Knife which will open up a world of creativity in the workshop
