Create space for mind & work harmony.

The UX of design work & play

Where your work space meets the creative mind

Space and mind interact

Set your workspace to be fluid. Whether it’s physical set-up, or symbolic space, set your creative environment as an expansive space. Let it flow as it needs to flow naturally. Harmonize your individuality with your surroundings.

For instance, include music and fresh air into your work and play zone. Create open spaces around tight spaces. Recognize the Feng Shui of your environment.

Simultaneous mind flow

A work flow where many categories of work & play interact.

I thrive on doing many things simultaneously. I draw and I think about my story. Similarly I write, but think about my drawings. Or, I code, but visualize constantly how it all should look on screen.

My way of being productive is multi-dimensional. Of course, working for money has priority, but it’s part of a huge filigree of projects. Some for projects are set for experimentation, some for learning, and quite a few for the sheer joy of doing art & drawing.

And then, there is the work-life balance, which we need to integrate into our daily routines.

How do we define our design work/play tools?

As designers, we have very specific work needs requiring our attention as well as meeting our individual creative expectations

To better understand our creative and production needs, we need to ask ourselves the following questions:

Figure 1: Creative peaks

Figure 1 illustrates a basic overview questionnaire about when we are hitting creative peaks. Understanding which creative time rhythm suits us best is important to understand the balance of work & play.

Asking myself when I’m really most creative helps enormously with scheduling. If my peak writing hours are in the morning, then AM hours are reserved for that.

Similarly, if my art & design creative hours hit their peaks in the evening, then I won’t clog…