Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Chris Glass and I'm a designer.
What hardware do you use?
A long in the tooth and discontinued MacBook Pro 17" (I am clinging to the CD drive stubbornly) with an external 27" Thunderbolt Display.
Also? An old Microsoft Intellipoint Mouse, wired.
I tend to gravitate to the LaCie brand hard drives for backup, with a good history of reliability. (Knock on wood.)
My daily camera is an Olympus OM-D E-M5. It's a perfect balance of size and function of a bigger SLR. I use a Canon 5D Mark II with an EF 24-70mm lens as my "big gun" for when I really want that extra resolution and don't mind lugging around a beast.
I used to have a prime 50mm lens and it was my favorite ever and I highly recommend it as the first lens anyone buys.
Favorite paper for drawing? Bienfang Graphics 360. Pens vary on what is around that isn't dried up. Usually a fine point Sharpie.
And what software?
I live largely in Adobe's Creative Cloud suite, which is a pretty awesome way to have access to all their software that can be loaded and unloaded as projects warrant. Currently spending most of my time in Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects.
I power up Espresso begrudgingly (wishing it was still just CSSEdit) when I want to ruin style sheets.
I use Lightroom with VSCO Film presets for photo editing. I've been using the film packs from VSCO since my trip to Russia. If you check out the photos in my album for the past year or so, rollover each image to see how it looked before processing. I really like the subtleties that can be achieved with their presets. (The new VSCO Phone app is right up there and the simplicity).
Other apps commonly in my dock? Mail, Keynote, Skype and Chrome. I use Wunderlist on my laptop and phone to organize and synchronize ideas, goals and a slew of lists, including grocery. Dropbox is always running.
I use Day One on my laptop and phone to remind myself to write in my journal. It's just for me, but I still find it valuable to reflect on each day.
Airfoil paired with Spotify for streaming music because iTunes is putrid and completely unenjoyable these days.
Online software includes Freshbooks, which has made billing and estimates as enjoyable as possible. I love it So. Very. Much.
What would be your dream setup?
Dream computing rig? I'd love to have a hard drive that could contain every file, photo and project from all time. It has to be extremely searchable. I'd be fine if it was all in some secure private cloud, but the initial upload, costs and confusion have prevented me from making the leap.
I'd like my same 17" laptop to have a Retina display, Fusion Drive and retain the CD burner. I realize this computer will never exist.
My super dream setup would include an open floor plan kitchen, couch, fireplace and media center (with video games) that flows into an outdoor space, partially covered for rainy days. My dream desk would be of the standing variety with an optional tall chair that had a footrest. The table would be deep and long with a built in light-table and all cords hidden.