Over at Onextrapixel they have just done a showcase of the work areas of 88 designers. I was invited to include my work area, however, it was Good Friday that I received the invitation and being the Easter long weekend, I didn’t really get my act together in time. However, since I took a photo anyway, I figured I might as well put it up here.
My primary work area:
Where most of it happens.
Most of the work areas shown on Onextrapixel seem to me to have been tidied up before hand, this is mine though, how it is 90% of the time. I do every few weeks have a tidy up, but for the most part this is it, filing and everything.
The machines you see are as follows:
Macbook Pro
This goes everywhere with me and probably gets more use than the workstations! I love it and it is great for most purposes. It is a 15″ Unibody Macbook Pro with an Intel 2.4ghz Core 2 Duo and 4gb of RAM.
Mac Pro
My favourite machine of the lot and now my primary workstation, this is a beautiful computer to work on. It is an 8 core machine with 2x 2.8ghz Intel Xeon CPU’s with 8gb of ECC Registered Memory. The screen I’m using for it is a 23″ Samsung (beautiful screen).
This is the beast that does all the heavy lifting. All the big graphics jobs are done on this machine. It also has a Logitech Di Novo Keyboard for Mac (much nicer than the standard Apple wireless keyboards and feels a lot like the Macbook Pro keyboards) and Apple Magic Mouse (multi-touch for a desktop computer = awesome), so it’s just like using a Macbook Pro, but with more power than you know what to do with.
Windows 7
The third computer you see is my old workstation which is now running Windows 7. I haven’t gotten rid of it yet simply because it is still a nice computer. It’s running a 2.4ghz Intel Core 2 Quad (Q6600 from memory) with 4gb of RAM, so it is still quite fast, even faster now with Windows 7. It’s complimented with dual 19″ Samsung LCDs.
I use it primarily for email management and testing on Windows. I do run Windows virtual machines on both my Mac’s, but sometimes it’s just quicker and easier to use this computer. It is also where most of the games are played (when I occasionally have time to play them).
What else is there?
Hidden in the recesses under the desk is also a Thecus N4100Pro NAS which handles data and most of the backups for all the computers. You’ll also see I have lots of filing and an Epson Multi-Function Printer. I did have a whiteboard, but I honestly don’t know where it is. I put it somewhere before I went on holidays over Christmas. It’s now MIA. Kicking around on the desk somewhere is an 8 port Ethernet switch, 4 port Ethernet Gateway and an Airport Express. There are cables everywhere beneath the desk – it’s a bit of a nightmare, especially considering there is also a NAS and a few UPS’s down there!
So that’s pretty much it, my work area. Ideally I want to put in another desk and move the Mac Pro to it and set it up with a better drawing space. As you can see my current drawing area is fairly limited and requires me to move keyboards before I can do any drawing.
I do have to admit, I like the idea of a minimalist style workspace, but there is just no chance of it happening, there is just too much that has to go somewhere in my work area!
Where else do I work?
One of my favourite places to work is actually on the sofa on my upstairs balcony. I love it up there. I take the laptop up there for a few hours at least once a day. It’s an excellent change of pace and results in some excellent design ideas. I’m thinking about starting a YouTube channel for TerraMedia which will probably be filmed on my balcony.
What do I do with all those computers?
As you may know, I am primarily a web designer. I own TerraMedia, a web design and development business where I specialise in Drupal websites and Drupal theming. My clients include small, sole trader businesses such as myself through to medium sized companies and online enterprises including e-commerce websites and online communities.
You can find me on Twitter at the following accounts:
Or you can find my on my other websites at:
