With more than 180 monthly issues behind it, Design Tools Monthly proudly turns 15 years old. Launched before the dawn of the World Wide Web, and supported only by paid subscribers, this unique service continues to inform, inspire and protect designers in 41 countries.
“We were an aggregator before there were aggregators,” quips Jay Nelson, editor and publisher of Design Tools Monthly since 1992. “Back then, just like today, there were plenty of sources of information for graphic designers, but they were too wordy, technical and cluttered with ads. Designers are incredibly busy people with no time to wade through pages and pages — in print or on the Web. They just want someone they trust to deliver what they need to know.”
Subscribers say they trust Design Tools Monthly because its stories consistently help them be more efficient and successful. “DTM gives me the thumbs up or down when upgrading, and its advice has never failed me.” states Ben Willmore, Photoshop author and trainer.
Design Tools Monthly has two parts: the first is a 12-page newsletter available in print and as a hyperlinked PDF. Each issue contains about 100 brief articles. The second is an online “Software Closet” that collects only the best free utilities, plug-ins and fonts for graphic designers. And every three months, an archival CD is mailed to subscribers, containing newsletters and software from the previous quarter.
Content from Design Tools Monthly also appears in numerous magazines, websites, and books. Editor Jay Nelson makes regular appearances on radio broadcasts, podcasts, and as a speaker at industry events. Notes Nelson: “We recently launched our own weekly podcast, named Design Tools Weekly. It gives us an opportunity to have some fun and comment on the stories we find most interesting.” (https://www.designtoolsweekly.com)
The bottom line? For Nelson, “We’re grateful for the trust our subscribers have placed in us for the past 15 years. It keeps us honest.”
Testimonials: https://www.design-tools.com/html/testimonials.htm
About Design Tools Monthly
Design Tools Monthly is a monthly newsletter and software service. Its purpose is to be a filter that delivers only the most important stories and software to professional graphic designers. The newsletter is available in print or electronically in PDF format. The online Software Closet collects the best free utilities, plug-ins and fonts for graphic designers, along with updates to software commonly used by creative professionals.
Subscription prices are:
Electronic-only delivery of PDF and Software Closet:
$199 worldwide
$99 for freelancers, students and teachers
Printed newsletter along with PDF, online Software Closet and a quarterly CD that archives everything from the previous three months:
$229 U.S. & Canada
$249 outside U.S. & Canada
$129 for freelancers, students and teachers
This article was last modified on October 6, 2022
This article was first published on November 6, 2007
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