As a designer, I'm constantly curious as to what others in my field are doing, but more importantly how they're doing it. I love reading in-depth studies of design and processes, and thus I learn from those more gifted than myself. So, in an effort that (hopefully) will help others, the following is a list of apps I couldn't possibly live without.

Adobe Creative Suite 3 (Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, etc...)

Often cited as the de-facto standard among graphics applications, Photoshop has become an indispensable part of my toolkit. Almost all of the graphic work I do somehow involves photoshop, and even when I turn to other programs (Fireworks for the cool PNG-8 transparency export option the original files were created in PS.

I tend to use Flash and Illustrator less than I would like, mostly because I make less banner ads, and logos than I used to. I consider myself adept at both programs though, and love to use them for experimentation when I'm less than inspired.

TextWrangler (text editor)

The missing text editor for the mac. Handles context highlighting in all the different languages, ftp file open/save, line numbers, good find/replace and a lot more. As a web designer, I need to open lots of different text files (php, asp, html, css, etc...).

Cyberduck (OSX FTP client)

One of the best, easiest-to-use FTP clients ever. Supports drag n' drop uploading/downloading, gorgeous support for multiple accounts, clean, uncluttered interface, support for cloud files, and a ton of other stuff. Simply a great example of open-source software.

Check Off (to-do list)

Very cool productivity app. Fits nicely in your OSX menu bar, accessible at any time. Totally intuitive, quickly add and check-off things, color-code everything, and even print/export the list. There are many a program that do the same thing, but I've yet to find one that's as simple and easy to use.