Pimp Up Your Workspace

I like to tell people I have the heart of a small boy.
Then I say it’s in a jar on my desk.
Stephen King

How does your workspace look like — and how do you want it to look like? Personally, I prefer to have all my work digitally — invisible if not needed, easy to backup, but also easy to loose. But still, I am thinking of pimping up my workspace. Not necessary to make it a more pleasurable place (if the creative work you do does not make it so, paint and accessories can only do so much), but perhaps to make it more … me.

I recently stumbled upon three interesting books on the topic, going from the “general space” to your actual workplace to the desk itself:

Manspace A wonderful and impressive book showing the places some men have created for themselves — and their friends. Be it for collecting stuff, entertainment, playing, sports, or working — manspace shows beautiful and impressive places. You do not need to be rich to create a place for your own (and while it deals with places men build or furnished, it should be applicable to any gender).

Cube chic I admit, with most of the decorated cubes in “Cube chic” I want to run away screaming, but there are some nice ideas how you can decorate a tiny place in a certain — consistent — style. I doubt that these designs will be accepted in a corporate setting, but still, and interesting idea.

My Desk is my Castle: Exploring Personalization Cultures It’s always interesting to have a look at other people’s desks — and this book allows you to look at a large number of different workplaces. Some crowded, some not so much — and with interesting texts that put the images into context.

Of course, while books show you (probably) the most interesting places/decorations (and the stories behind them), there are also a lot of interesting photos of workplaces online.

For example, there are some old groups on flickr (I am not a flickr user anymore since it was bought by Yahoo, but it has its uses):

• Group “My Desk”: http://www.flickr.com/groups/mydesk/
• The Guardian’s group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1712025@N23/ (careful — if you post anything here you give the rights to The Guardian)
• or another old one: http://www.flickr.com/groups/thisiswhereispendmostofmylife/

or some interesting photos on deviantART if you search, for example, for “my desk”.

So, how does your workplace look like — and how do you want to have it?