We Got Our Own Thang

A clean desk is the sign of a sick mind.

At least that is the often quoted tip given to me by an old boss of mine, Dan Shuder. He is also the guy that told me, "If you are going to hoot with the night owls, you better be able to fly with the eagles in the morning".... or something like that (but that's another story).

Often a design studio is a cornucopia of things, posters, gadgets, clippings, artwork, ads, postcards and such. The walls and shelves are pilled with things- inspiration! Ever since I was little, I have always attached things to my walls, mostly posters (ah... Farrah in her red bathing suit....). But it advanced to drawings, magazine photos, snapshots, labels and anything flat that inspired me, or just things I liked, applied with scotch tape. I remember my dad coming home from work and flipping out when he found I had stapled an entire wall in my room (in his house) with things, meticulously (spent all day) arranged things. He made me meticulously take it all down the same night!

As a designer and an artist I always found inspiration in the walls of stuff vs. the blank wall. I love the DJ booth of the Old Pink covered in stickers. The last job I had (employed by someone else) had me in a small office with no windows and blank, light blue walls. Well the first think I did was bring some stuff from home: some photos, little toys, plastic characters and posters. My boss thought I was a little nuts, but I had to have things on the wall. The blank canvas cried for stuff!! My office was so boring!!

Our current office has quite a bit of stuff around and I find it fun and stimulating. Others may find it messy and distracting. The more wall space, the more stuff we need. Things to look at often inspires me, and it gets me thinking of other things. I often take snapshots of the office space to use for the stories I write here, so I thought I would add a few more to give you a good idea of the cornucopia of stuff that surrounds me. There is lots of room for more stuff.

Here is a link to an article on Behance magazine about designers and their workspaces- click here.

OtherWisz Office (click for larger):


Old Mac and books, samples, swatches...


The Bat Phone really works, kids!


The files aren't always in the cabinets.


Not the actual Stanley Cup.