Bernskiold Learning » Office

Set up an office space!

Erik Bernskiold — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:00:17 +0000

On Monday we talked about defining the boundaries between work and personal life and my last point was to set up an office space, a point that I felt really needed its own full post. Think about it, you work as much (if not more) than any designer or company employee. They have their desks in the company building with comfortable chairs and the necessary office equipment, so why should you be sitting around at your kitchen table or small computer table?

As it happens, there are no good reasons for that at all. You need to treat yourself to a real office setup. If you have a spare-room that you can make into your office this is definitely going to be the best, if not then having part of a bedroom is going to work, just don’t set it up in the living room, you’ll be allto tempted to just get on there during “whatevertime” to “just check this one thing”.

Get a real office desk and a real office chair

The first thing you should do when setting up your home office is to get a real office desk and a real office chair. Remember, this is your workplace, this is where you are going to spend your days so it better be comfortable. This is definitely an important part of your business expenses and you should make sure you enjoy your furniture.

Decorate the walls

Decorate the walls and the desk with photos, posters or whatever you want to personalize it with. I hang a few of my own photographs in elegant frames above as well as some industry posters and company posters. I’m really happy with this as my work area decoration and it isn’t obtrusive either.

Set everything up nicely

I guess this will probably change depending on your preference of either a clean workspace or a messy one. I’m a clean freak and I want my things to be set up properly. I try to make sure cables are hidden and to make it look like I would present it to a client. Even if no client is ever going to see it, set it up like someone would. It will help to keep it professional and business based.

Friday News

Erik Bernskiold — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:09:26 +0000

Microsoft is announcing that in the next version of Office, you’ll not only be able to run normal computer based applications but also login and use the programs over the internet as well. Pretty useful stuff!
Apple has recently made some updates to its MobileMe service, specifically 27 new updates. The have mainly done some performance upgrades but also some feature enhancements and bug fixes.
If you are a Mac user who is also using spaces a lot you might want to take a look at this little cool app called Dock Spaces. It will allow you to have a different dock for each space you are in, so that you can see only the apps you need for that work environment.
Finally do check out today’s quick-tip to find out how you can quickly colour code your layers in Photoshop!

Wednesday Design News

Erik Bernskiold — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:00:10 +0000

There will be an interview coming today as well but here are the news:

Antonio Lupetti has posted a blog post about ten handwritten fonts that he really likes and uses a lot. The post is complete with a little idea how you can use it, a preview of each font and where to get it. Give it a read!
Microsoft is putting out a new bug fix for Office for Mac. The two updates are supposed to increase stability and performance when using the applications in the office suite. As usual it’s the safest to get the updates from the Microsoft Office site.
WordPress.com has launched a brand new, cleaner design. It really does look nice and kinda combines their old look with their new in a much nicer laid out way. Kudos to the designers!
The great folks over at Smashing Magazine are always releasing cool free stuff. This time around they have a great looking set of 74 grunge photoshop brushes that are available for a free download.