Perhaps it’s my inner engineer, but seeing behind the scenes of workshops, be they real or digital, always fascinates me. Maybe that’s why How it’s Made is so compelling. The show proves that there’s more than just the end product: the workspace and the process that surround the product that turn out to be just as interesting than what was produced.
A recent discussion internally about using standing desks got me thinking: what do our workspaces look like? Does something about them inspire our craft and code? Is it the lack of clutter, or the general disarray of your everyday stuff that helps ideas flow better? Is your space a blank canvas? A workbench? A retreat?
Here’s what some of our workspaces looked like yesterday and today. Feel free to share yours!
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Will Jessop
on 24 Feb 12Noah’s original uncensored desk shot
Peter Cooper
on 24 Feb 12I’ll share Steve Jobs’ instead: http://dailyexhaust.com/images/steve_jobs_at_his_desk.jpg http://obamapacman.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Steve-Jobs-Apple-CEO-Home-Office-03-messy-desk.jpg
ThatGuyKC
on 24 Feb 12I’m dripping with envy at some of your setups. Epic.
Frankie Laguna
on 24 Feb 12I love Will’s desk!
RDO
on 24 Feb 12Heh, I can tell who are the likely code/engineering, business, customer service and Ops by just looking at your desks :)
Todd Dominey
on 24 Feb 12What kind of desk does Javan have? Don’t believe I’ve seen one quite like that with the hand-crank, which I presume would be cheaper than the auto-lift variety.
JD
on 24 Feb 12RDO, I bet you can’t.
Rich
on 24 Feb 12You guys really oughta buck up and get Will an adjustable stand up desk!
Johnny
on 24 Feb 12What about DHH’s desk?
Will Jessop
on 24 Feb 12@Johnny It’s on there
Bob Martens
on 24 Feb 12So much fun to look at the desks of everyone. Some really interesting spaces.
Favorite one is definitely the Wii box propping up Will’s laptop. I have some heavy books propping up my monitor at the moment. Should probably put my stilts back under my desk.
Phil
on 24 Feb 12Is the separator on Jason F’s desk custom made? If so from what material. Look pretty cool!
joe larson
on 24 Feb 12@Jami +1000 for the guitar next to the desk. I usually have 3 to 5 guitars in my home office, which are a great for a few minute pause from work when needed.
Stef
on 24 Feb 12Come on guys, put them on a site like http://deskography.org/ not only here!
Dan
on 24 Feb 12David’s kinda slumming it there.
Will Jessop
on 24 Feb 12@Phil: Not sure if it’s custom, but there are more shots here
Matt Carey
on 24 Feb 12David and Sam have the best set-ups IMHO.
Gary Garside
on 24 Feb 12Sam’s home is nuts! That’s pretty inspiring all on it’s own.
Patrick Harrington
on 24 Feb 12What really struck me was all the natural light in just about all of these shots—unfortunately, as I sit where I am I can just barely see a window in the distance, and am otherwise flooded by fluorescent light.
Javan
on 24 Feb 12@Todd Dominey Here’s the base and desktop. We might do post on our various standup desks too.
JF
on 24 Feb 12The separators between desks at the 37signals office are custom made with recycled and compressed plastic pellets that look something like this
Tom
on 24 Feb 12Kristin’s desk has a great burger on it.
AC
on 24 Feb 12@37signals
Thank you for finally creating a mobile version of your blog.
(typing in the comment fields is funky on my iPhone, might want to look into that)
Michael Barton
on 24 Feb 12I noticed most of you use apple keyboards, either the wireless versions or as part of a laptop. I used to use the same but found that ergonomic keyboards felt much better on the tips of my fingers. I think it’s because of how little distance there is between the depressed and non-depressed key.
Keith
on 24 Feb 12David’s desk for the win, what a view! Although I will say Noah’s set up looks pretty sweet.
Derek
on 24 Feb 12The dogs of 37signals! Loved all the dog shots and Sam’s space. Wow that space is incredible!
Kelly Sutton
on 24 Feb 12My desk while in Berlin.
Swanand
on 24 Feb 12I think @sstephenson has a really enviable surrounding.
GeeIWonder
on 24 Feb 12Emily looks like she had a ruff day…
Almost no phones! How times have changed…
Guille
on 24 Feb 12I’d love to read more about some of the choices you guys made when setting up your workspaces (in terms of equipment, arrangement, etc.) to make them more comfortable/productive/personal/whatnot. For example, like why Jamis chose a barstool instead of a desk chair, and things like that.
Gustavo Dutra
on 24 Feb 12WOW !
Noah’s desk is amazing ! But I could not take my eyes off the screens…
Was it Awesome Window Manager with Vim (solorized colorscheme with dark background) ?
Could not see the term nor identify the Linux Distro, but if it is ArchLinux and urxvt-256color, than the only difference to my desktop is the amount of monitors! Hahaha
Nice shot!
Jamis
on 24 Feb 12@Guille, I tend to sit, lean, or stand in equal proportions, and the stool is much more amenable to that. Also, I can’t work in “comfy” chairs; it’s too easy to lounge and ruin my posture, and it makes it much harder to get out of them. The biggest benefit of a standing desk is that you can walk away from it whenever you want, for a few minutes at a time. Waiting for tests to run? Go for a quick walk around the house, rather than inanely checking email or twitter or whatever.
Terry Sutton
on 24 Feb 12Extremely surprised at the lack of ergonomic setups here. @SS doesn’t even have adjustable arms on his chair!
Do many/any of you suffer from chronic fatigue and/or Carpal Tunnel?
Charles Cousins
on 24 Feb 12Chase! I too have Iron Man at my desk! Very cool.
Aleks
on 24 Feb 12David and Sam’s, i was like DAFUQ!
FredS
on 24 Feb 12Somewhat related and a personal favorite: http://usesthis.com/
Blain Smith
on 24 Feb 12Just after a day of cleaning. My father and I made the desk by hand.
http://blainsmith.com/post/3664382618/finally-a-clean-desk
adriaan
on 24 Feb 12I like Sam’s setup. Jamis desk looks a bit uncomfortable with that chair :)
blues4free
on 24 Feb 12Chase is the only one that has the Twelve South BookArc? Very smart choice Chase!
Pieter Eerlings
on 24 Feb 12At Zorros we all work from home as well, spread over Europe. Here is my desk! http://www.flickr.com/photos/los_zorros/6779909018/
Nizar
on 24 Feb 12I always like tu put my desk in the middle of the room. I guess I feel in control of everything that way
Radex
on 24 Feb 12It’s a shame there are no high-res pictures :(
Mark Essel
on 24 Feb 12No contest, David’s desk wins.
MattO
on 24 Feb 12@Noah Love the vertical monitor. I’m surprised more people don’t use one, since most of the content that we digest is better suited for portrait page ratios.
Walker Hamilton
on 24 Feb 12My desk, today.
Steph
on 24 Feb 12Now I understand why Jamie has dinosaur footprints all over his work.
Curtis
on 24 Feb 12Amazing how pervasive Apple products are at 37signals! Here’s to the crazy ones….
Russell
on 24 Feb 12I vote Sam for best set up. The sweet caress of Herman Miller.
Fonality phone system? Saw those Polycoms and Macs.
either yall cleaned up for the pictures or you really eat your own dog food, so little paper clutter.
Apoorv
on 24 Feb 12David’s desk. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Alasdair P
on 24 Feb 12Awesome post! Love it.
Phil McTim
on 24 Feb 12Due to the back-to-back monitors, for a second I thought that Ryan sits in front of a giant mirror all day.
The phrase “typical designer” may have popped into my head :)
Kevin
on 24 Feb 12I think I see only 2 mechanical keyboards (Noah and possibly Eron)? If I had to guess Noah’s is a tenkeyless Filco w/ cherry blues?
Otherwise, really cool. I love the different standing setups. Also worth noting is everyone has pen and paper right there; walking around my office area I don’t see the same. Food for thought…
Kevin
on 24 Feb 12I think I see only 2 mechanical keyboards (Noah and possibly Eron)? If I had to guess Noah’s is a tenkeyless Filco w/ cherry blues?
Otherwise, really cool. I love the different standing setups. Also worth noting is everyone has pen and paper right there; walking around my office area I don’t see the same. Food for thought…
Josh
on 24 Feb 12I really like Erron’s setup. Whats he got on the wall behind the monitor?
NL
on 24 Feb 12@Kevin – browns, but good eye :)
David Andersen
on 24 Feb 12Really surprised at the lack of paper. My desk is typically strewn with it.
Mike
on 24 Feb 12Aww, I wanted to see Jeremy Kemper’s desk.
Dennis Major
on 24 Feb 12I like Steve Job’s office – rustic office walls, very simple and plain wood desk, one monitor screen displaying images that inform as to what was really important to him.
It strikes me that people, ideas and a simple life were more important to Jobs than possessions, views and and a desk accessorized with monitors.
He was by no means perfect, but his life lived has so many lessons to offer …
Jason Archer
on 24 Feb 12My team (who works remotely) just met for a three-day summit and spent one of our community sessions sharing the pics of our workspaces and the environments we work in. We’ll be posting the pics and our best ideas from working at home next week in a community post on Our Department Website. Here are pics of my basement office on Flickr
Marquitoks
on 24 Feb 12I can’t believe the Joan uses that desk to work. Sorry but that was just a photo montage.
Eduardo
on 24 Feb 12Sam’s desk is the best. Love the retro style and so much light and space.
Marquitoks
on 24 Feb 12I forgot one thing, Will’s desk is a photo montage too. I don’t see any point of doing these montages.
Steve
on 24 Feb 12@Jason – cheers to Ogilvy On Advertising. I always keep that book close to my desk too :)
Americo Savinon
on 24 Feb 12Sam’s desk is the best or at least the best picture.
AstonJ
on 24 Feb 12Love Jeff’s room – the colour of the room, the floor, the décor (and period) the dual aspect, the beautiful views.. and the best spot reserved for the dog :-)
I’d post mine but it’s a total mess!
Steffen
on 24 Feb 12Nice pics.
I like to have a wall behind my screen, not a window or space where my eyes have to re-zoom when I wonder off the screen.
So David’s desk would be worst case for me. :-D
Eric
on 24 Feb 12Here’s a link to a specific brand of those acoustic tiles they use to separate desks – http://www.robin-reigi.com/detail.php?mid=22&mc=wall
JF
on 24 Feb 12That’s the stuff, Eric. Thanks!
EN
on 24 Feb 12Josh, thanks! The print is a figureground map of Boston from CityFabric.
KrazyCeltic
on 24 Feb 12Desk winners 1st: Michael 2nd: David 3rd: Sam
Honorable mention for best visible desktop wallpaper: Kristin (laptop)
Paul Schneider
on 24 Feb 12A few weeks back, at our little company, we bought a treadmill desk that three of us share. Here’s a pic of me (dork) on it..
I’m burning an average of 460 cals per day walking 3 miles for 2.5 hours. Hoping to drop a couple pounds :-)
We can actually code on it (not design) and get pretty deep in thought.
Slevin
on 24 Feb 12I will say, this blog post inspired me to clean my desk. And it feels good.
Angela
on 25 Feb 12I saw the guitar and knew right away it was Jamis’ desk :)
Tim
on 25 Feb 12This just made me clean my desk up in disgust at myself. What’s the bet everyone got the call to clean then photograph.
DHH’s wins.
Makes my looking-out-over-our-10acres-in-the-Byron-Bay-hinterland seem poxy in comparison. But only just.
Justin Ko
on 25 Feb 12My setup: http://pic.twitter.com/eczGzu1B
Herman Miller Embody Chair
Herman Miller Envelope Desk
Hideous view though.
Wilman
on 25 Feb 12Terrific idea! I love the proposal. We programmers love to see others desks, kind of cool. Congrats!
Daniel Øhrgaard
on 25 Feb 12How about this one: Al Gore’s office (the desk is somewhere in there)
Al Gore must be a sysop (he did invent the Internet, after all).
And because your workspaces look nothing like Gore’s, and Gore is an environmentalist, I must conclude that 37signals hates the environment. Q.E.D. :)
Seriously though, it’s really cool of you to share this. I’m especially envious of Sam’s setup. Gorgeous room, gorgeous desk.
Jason Archer
on 25 Feb 12Justin Ko, I love how you position your Bose Companion speakers under the display. I’ll be adopting that this week. Thanks.
Noël Jackson
on 25 Feb 12Sam is a baller! Beautiful workspace.
FiFi
on 25 Feb 12DHH has the best view of all. Really nice :-)
Happy Low-carb
on 26 Feb 12I really like the Emily’s dog :)
Sara
on 26 Feb 12oh my god. Do your desks always look that neat!? Or did everyone make an effort for this post? Agree with @Tim. I’ll clean my office desk first thing monday morning, it is definitely disgusting compared to these uncannily clean versions… So, took a photo of my not so used (= not so messy) desk at home. Uncensored, ash tray and all. http://pic.twitter.com/JeWyTIe2
love the dogs
david Robins
on 26 Feb 12I love these office pictures. Who cleans the desks?
José Espinal
on 26 Feb 12David and Sam: your houses are great too.
Christian Hjalmarsson
on 26 Feb 12Here´s an old one but it mostly always look like that.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/christianh/5855678879/in/photostream
Andrew
on 26 Feb 12Jamis – let me give you a number for a chiropractor – I think you’re gonna need it.
Blair Rorani
on 27 Feb 12Fav = David’s.
Anonymous Coward
on 27 Feb 12Noah’s is totally geeky (in a good way) ... David, is that your home? Its an awesome view man!
Devang Kamdar
on 27 Feb 12Noah’s is totally geeky (in a good way) ... David, is that your home? Its an awesome view man!
Boris Marchenko
on 27 Feb 12Guys, don’t place your screen in front of window – it’s bad for your eyes (except if you works at night only).
GeeIWonder
on 27 Feb 12Stool actually makes you use your core. Sometime I use a balance ball (also travels better than a stool).
And if you start cheating and leaning forward, the guitar breaks (for which the stool is – much – better as well) makes you lean back a bit.
When I had mine in that position, it came too close to getting periodic dings and/or coffee on it though, so mine is beside where the PC-case is facing right. Half reach away,
@Jamis do you work over you git-box at all (clearances look pretty tight for that) or have to sling it up/back down?
Gomm
on 27 Feb 12Trevor haz Jamis’ bike
Chris Holtz
on 27 Feb 12Here’s a fire hose of computer battle station photos:
http://www.reddit.com/r/battlestations
Jamis
on 27 Feb 12@Andrew, not sure why you’d think I’d need a chiropractor…I stand about half the time, and for the other half, the stool is actually much, much better for my posture than a desk chair.
@GeeIWonder, I’m not sure I understand the question, but I’ll answer anyway. :) When I use my guitar at the desk, I either move the stool aside and stand (which gives me plenty of space), or I’ll scoot the stool back a bit to give me more room. It’s definitely a delicate dance, though; I’ve bumped it harder than I would like a couple of times, but the convenience of having the guitar right there is hard to deny.
Steve Woods
on 27 Feb 12Here’s mine: http://www.lanilogic.com/public/desk.jpg
Love the dark, helps me drown everything else out.
On another note, it’s very reassuring in a way to see that not everyone has a kick ass set up, or posh office, but are still able to crank out some awesome work that gets used the world over. An amazing product of our time.
Thanks guys!
Fabricio Buzeto
on 27 Feb 12Inspired i posted my on my blog: http://blog.buzeto.com/2012/02/meu-espaco-de-trabalho.html
Geof Harries
on 27 Feb 12My setup at the office as it’s been for the past six months.
RF
on 27 Feb 12One of these has more dinosaurs than the others. :)
Jason Archer
on 27 Feb 12I just posted a summary of what our team is learning from our home offices with pics as a homage to this post and thread. Hope you find it helpful.
WeLoveHighrise
on 28 Feb 12And here are ours: http://welovehighriseblog.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/our-workspaces/
;)
Johnny W
on 28 Feb 12Sam’s workspace is niiice, its feels like a more artist space than a home office. Way cool.
hari
on 28 Feb 12i really like the design of the desk partitions you guys use (seen in kristin’s desk pictured above, and in a couple pictures on your ‘office’ page), but i can’t find them online. mind telling me what brand they are and where you got them?
John Griffiths
on 01 Mar 12Love it, those workspaces are so good.
Switched to a standing desk at home, and honestly such an improvement, keep nagging my boss to get ones for the office.
Jari
on 01 Mar 12“You need less than you think”. That’s right! Look what kind of working environment we got with less than 50 bucks per month.
http://www.5minutebox.com/ouroffice
Dan
on 01 Mar 12love Michael and Davids view outside. where abouts are these guys?
Jason Pontius
on 02 Mar 12Jason: Ogilvy on Advertising
Anonymous Coward
on 02 Mar 12(you stripped out my love-heart emoticon)
This discussion is closed.