Whatever you have to design there are a lot of choices, different ones, aimed at different targets by company preference, ease of use, price, whatever.

And as it is, we usually end up with more than one tool to deliver our goal. By the time I publish this post I have used Darkroom, Windows Live Writer, GIMP, iMindMap and my web browser. When I work, I use Darkroom (thanks to Dosh Dosh), Enterprise Architect, iMindMap, Requisite Pro, MS Word, Excel, MS Project, or anything else that the current job – and the company – requires me to use.

And of course, I use the best design tool ever.

The best design tool has to support the design of different things from software to database to web layouts, pictures, web posts, novels, weekend programmes, in fact, it has to be good for the design of almost everything.

In addition the best design tool has the following important technical features:

1. It has to be easy to use.
2. Has to have a short learning curve.
3. Must support different notations – and in the same design
4. Must have a clean and simple user interface
5. It has to be distraction free
6. And a lot more…

Looking at this list, I realized that the best design tool is the paper+pencil combination. It’s pretty easy to use, it certainly has a clean and simple user interface, and at the same time you can design pretty much anything with it. You don’t have to upgrade it regularly, you don’t have to worry that it will get slow, you can use whatever notation and style you want, and on the same piece of paper.

You can fill half the paper with UML standard notations, the other half with screen design, then on the other side of the paper you can scribble formatted texts – using any kind of bulletin points, skulls or flowers if you want – and draw a mind map , and on top add an SSADM style entity life history, no limits. And you can mix it even, and put an association link between a UML class and a mind map. And of course you can decorate it easily.

There are a few problems with it of course: you need place to store the the results, and there is no copy paste function implemented – although, thinking about the amount of problem copy+paste generates it can be a benefit.

Best of all, the paper has no distracting features. Have you ever noticed that you sit down in front of your favourite – or company issued – designer programme, and after placing a few boxes and linking them you suddenly realize that in the last 10 minutes all you did was aligning them properly, and straightening the lines? And of course, colouring the boxes.

Then, in the middle of your thinking Skype beeps, and starts to blink in the task bar, and Outlook notifies you of an incoming e-mail which you start to read and next thing you know you are googling the answer to some question your boss asked you. Or your spouse. Or whatever. No such things with paper. No menus, icons, blinking and beeping.

And then there is creativity – when you drag a box on the screen, that’s all, you drag a box. When you draw it with your hand your brain starts to move and pick up the speed – at least, that’s what the smart ones say ¹ – and you have to concentrate more, pay attention more when you draw the shape than when you just drag it up.

My main problem with the paper is that people are prone to think you did nothing if there are no new files in the repository or the old ones are not updated. But that can be managed – most of the time. Of course there are people who claim that if it’s not in the machine it does not exist. Fortunately they are rare.

So I say you stick with the paper when you design. It’s convenient, easy to carry around, and when you have something that won’t make you cringe when you take a second look, you can sit down in front of your machine and copy it from the paper into your chosen programme. Sure, it takes time, but you already saved a lot of time by working with a more active and more creative mind, and not getting distracted by the “Check it out!! It’s hilarious” mails you got from your friends.

This post wouldn’t have been written if I weren’t asked so many times: What’s the best design tool for….