jellying

So I'm sitting at The Change You Want To See coworking space. There are about 10 people here. Four of them are women, including myself. I think you'd feel weird if you didn't have a laptop. There does not seem to be any space to work. More people just entered. Two more guys. We are running out of space. There are two older gentlemen here. There is a guy here from Buenos Aires, who does coworking there. He's working on the couch. It seems pretty quiet. One of the founders of the space just walked in. Her name is Becca. Alexis is here but not Louise. The amount of mac users overwhelm the dell users. There is music playing. Star trek-like instrumental. Oh... Louise just walked in. This guy next to me takes off his watch before he starts typing. That is interesting. Jon does the same thing at home. I think bulky, men's watches gets in the way of typing. There is a cat here that came from the ceiling and just walked down the ladder. Her name is Tony. I think the owner just walked in as well. The space is getting tight. People are not really moving to accommodate, but there is a break-out room. The guy next to me just got a call and he's going outside to talk. Alexis just put on his headphones. The SSID and password are listed on the blackboard. There is a girl with a wacom and she is drawing.

It's not 12:40 and people are becoming more conversational. I hear more talking. Some people ordered lunch together from M. Shanghai. I'm not big on Chinese, so I just grabbed a slice. News12 videotaped and interviewed some people. I think it's showing at 5:30 pm today.

Some ideas for products is having a laptop that has a screen on the back so that you can project messages as well as create a skin for you laptop with pictures and such. It's 4:24 now. I have been working on wedding stuff all day. I guess I'm multi-tasking.... working on thesis and wedding stuff. Some people are leaving! There were about 25 people all together. I guess people like to work late. I guess you can do that when you are your own boss. Some people are now leaving and some are getting beers and coming back with it.

change you want to see

Coworking is an interesting phenomenon. It's a place where bloggers, programmers, writers, designers, and really just about anyone come together to co-habitat a space while working on individual projects. I ventured into Williamsburg today to check out the change you want to see, which is an art gallery space that is also used for daily coworking. The location seemed quite dismal but two very friendly coworkers greeted me inside - Alexis and Louise. They both were so open to converse about the space, coworking, and their jobs. They raved about how productive coworking is compared to any other job they had sitting in an office or cubicle. I imagine I would get great feedback on prototypes and concepts from these guys, which would fall in line with the premise of coworking. To foster a sense of community and spur innovation and creativity in a space where no two people are working on the same thing.

This Friday is jelly. It's a bi-weekly get-together of coworkers at higher numbers than usual at the same location and I can't wait to see what happens.

bagging it

This is the first time I have ever sewn anything and I must admit it was quite gratifying. I enjoy making things from fabric. The materials cost about $50.00 and they were sourced from all over the garment district in Manhattan. One store in particular, Elegant Fabrics, has many selections, a lot of staff, and is not that crowded or hectic like Mood. They also offer 10% discounts to students, which is great. I can't wait to tote things around in it.

laptops and lattes

I sat in Tillies today. I ordered a green tea with an energy hemp bar and pretended to do work like everyone else because cafes are anything but places to sip lattes and chat with friends. No, they have turned into pseudo offices. Places where people go to drink coffee and type away on their laptops. People will pay for multiple beverages for the ambiance, the white noise, the clutter-free table, and for the cafe energy that helps them be productive.

I sat next to a writer who told me that he was editing. He said that he needed to work at home when he's actually composing a piece, but he needs to be in this setting to edit. He said it gave him 'perspective.' I think I understand what he meant by 'perspective.' I get that feeling when I sit in airport terminals because it heightens my senses and makes me think about where I am and where I am going. It affords me time to be reflective and deep which always puts things in perspective.

The most important thing I learned from sitting at Tillies was that people need to be in different environments to effectively work. The home office may be a good way to start the day, but the local cafe may just what you need to plow through the 3 o'clock hump.

brainstorming

What kind of products can I make for the home office.

The idea of merging functionality:
a wire weight (instead of a paper weight) to hold onto wires,
a powerstrip bookshelf,
bookshelf speakers
the stable mouse
a powerstrip that is magnetic and easy to access,
a white board that is like a post it (cube, frame, desktopper)

concepts:
posture and working
exercise
ergonomics
different ways to sit
traveling

designing the office of the future

Interesting excerpt from an article in the Grand Rapids Business Journal Express:

As he (Lodato, an industrial designer working for Herman Miller) sees it, the role of office design will be to absorb or manage those elements. Much of this will come from integrating technology into furniture, but not in the manner designers have traditionally used. For example, this would likely not include building computer components into furniture. The next-generation office will likely reverse that paradigm, using technology to add value to furniture.

Technologists envision a workplace that essentially manages itself. Individual workstations could be outfitted to recognize users, adjusting climate control and light settings. A next-generation Aeron chair might remember ergonomic settings for each user.

“You could create an intelligence in the fabric that will understand your weight and chemistry,” Lodato said. “It could recognize who you are, and maybe that you’re perspiring too much and overstressed. It’ll know you’ve put in a long week and say, ‘Hey, it’s Friday, take a break.’ The chair talks to you.”

rudimentary mind map

Ingrid's wire-escape solution

A fellow thesis mate sent this my way after we discussed in class about the annoying way wires fall down when unplugged from laptops. Here she has a powerplug, a usb cable, and headphone/speaker plug held down by the space created between the frame and spring of her desk lamp. Pretty resourceful solution to such an annoying problem.

for my thesis....

It occurred to me a couple of months ago that the idea of the 'home office' reinforces the old adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same. People used to work out of their homes as farmers, blacksmiths or artisans. They used to sell their wares and/or services and things were much more local, hand-crafted, and decentralized. Along came the industrial revolution and people began migrating to labor in factories. Cities sprang up and so did slums. The economy centralized and later shifted to a more white collar workforce. People "went into" work, sometimes commuting hours to get to the office.

Now, a lot of people are working from their homes as artists and craftsmen again. They are selling their work on etsy.com and their personal websites while getting paid through paypal. The internet has made that possible. Anyone can have a store front on the web. Much more interesting is that even high-tech and financial industries are following suit.

Corporations are asking their employees to work from home to save costs on office space, retain valued workers, improve employee morale, and inspire innovation. An article in Business Week titled "Square Feet Oh, How Square" says,"By dumping square footage, negotiating flexible leases, reconfiguring shadow space, creating movable, everything-on-wheels offices, and designing 'getting away without going away' areas, companies can better leverage their talent and inspire innovation." The savings are tremendous and that is why home offices are on a rise. More and more people are telecommuting and therefore, setting up home work spaces. "For the second consecutive year, an American Institute of Architects survey of industry professionals revealed the home office is the most popular special-function room in the house." (Business Week, November 15, 2006).

The home office is a system of computers, wiring, storage, lighting, and furniture and just ripe for re-design, streamline, and innovation. I am looking forward to meeting and working with the unique personalities that make up this pajama workforce.

design by the book

I had a chance to see some of Julia Rothman's work at the Design by the Book event I went to today. It inspired me to do a little drawing before bed. I was psyched to get a little face time with Grace Bonny. She's lovely.