This week we’re taking a slight break from our normal tips format. If you are looking for the right gift to bring a smile to the graphic designer on your holiday list, here are ideas in the $20-$80 range. Plus one extravagant gift idea you might want to reserve for yourself.

Creative Gift #1— Helvetica The Film. On DVD.

Helvetica The Film (DVD)

Helvetica, a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture, is finally out on DVD. An essential addition to any graphic designer’s movie collection.

Update: Seattle-area designers can pick up a copy of Helvetica at Scarecrow Video in the U-District. Or you can order Helvetica from Scarecrow’s online store.

Join us at the Creativetechs office Wednesday mornings 9:30am to 11am. Pick up a couple new skills, and get back to work before lunch. You can put what you learn into use the same day.

Too many active fonts can slow your computer down, make the font menu long and unwieldy, and lead to a host of other computer problems. So to coax a little more speed and stability out of your copy of InDesign, graphic designers should keep those long font menus under control.

But what if you are brainstorming a new logo? That’s exactly the time you want access to your full library of thousands (and thousands) of creative fonts.

Happily, the big three font managers (FontAgent Pro, Suitcase, and FontExplorer) all provide a quick way to try out your fonts — without having to activate them first. Type a name or phrase into the preview window. Then scroll through your huge font collection and see what catches your eye. When you find something you want to play with, turn that font on for use in your graphics applications.