My Toolkit

I am always curious about the applications people use or, more importantly, their secrets. So here is my list shared with you:

Adobe Fireworks CS3

Hands-down the best, and fastest, application for web design layout. The "Pages" feature allows you to create a master file and share layers (like headers, footers, ad units) across similar pages. And it lets you create libraries of shared assets like buttons, font styles, and other design details. I know there are die-hard Photoshop users out there, and don't get me wrong, Photoshop is great for some things. But for web layout you can vastly increase your productivity with Fireworks.

Adobe Acrobat Shared PDFs

When we present designs for review we create a shared PDF so the team can add notes, copy changes, and comments. You can see which person on the team made the note, and you can mark notes as complete. This gets people on the same page and reduces communication gaps.

Google Docs

For big projects with many pages and stages of development, Google Docs can greatly improve team communication, especially with virtual teams. We create a shared spreadsheet listing the pages and status (IA, Design, Development, Approved, etc...) for tracking the project. And because it lets you edit real time, a virtual team can see and discuss page status during a meeting. Last year we managed an inventory of 80 pages in design during a two month period, with extremely tight deadlines, and never missed a date or a page. That's what I consider great technology.

Basecamp

Where would we be without Basecamp? I have a lot to say about this application. Basecamp is a great online tool for managing projects and group communication. The message board style discussion area creates a conversation trail that makes email look like the antiquated beast that it is. (If you've ever had a client email a project request as a forward of a forward, and their note to you said 'See below...' you know why email doesn't work as a management tool.)

We also rely heavily on the file sharing/upload feature in Basecamp, which allows clients to post files so everyone on the team has access. No more loosing files to email inboxes, or bounced emails because the attachment was too big. When working with many clients or many people on one project, Basecamp centralizes discussion, assets and deadlines. Most importantly, it's so simple any client can use it (and believe me we have tested this theory).

Quickbooks/Quicken (on the Mac through Parallels)

If you are running a business, or for personal use, Quicken and Quickbooks will save you more time and peace of mind than you can ever imagine. That said, they are not the easiest programs to learn out of the box, but totally worth the effort. Quicken has a much better interface than Quickbooks, but Quicken is really for home use, whereas Quickbooks is for Business. If you get really ninja, you can setup all your bills to automatically get processed each month at two intervals. I do the 1st and the 15th, and just round up to the whole dollar so I am paying enough. And I have reminders set 5 days ahead so I can be certain money is my account to cover it. My computer now does the worrying for me.

CSSEdit

A great application Matthew found for editing CSS. Its great for the non-ninja (me), or ninja-in-training CSS folks out there. CSSEdit lets you preview any html page and see what exactly the CSS controls. It also lets you edit the CSS in a test mode environment so you can tame the CSS.

OmniFocus

Also one of Matthew's finds. OmniFocus is to-do list manager based on the GTD methodology. People seem to either love or hate this application. It definitely takes some fine-tuning to get OmniFocus working the way you want, but it does a good job organizing your list into next actions and reminding you to review your projects. There might be better tools on the market, but so far this one is my favorite for GTD.

If I think of more I will add to the list. Anyone else have a great application they want to share?