The Creative Office: Chaos or Clutter-Free?
The place or places a designer chooses to work says a lot about that designer. Is it a tidy space where everything has a place and clutter is a word only whispered in the shadows? Or is it a place where chaos is the word of the day and there are quite literally walking trails from the desk to the bathroom, lined with books and papers and art supplies?
You know what? Both of these offices can be the good environments for creativity! It just depends on the designer. This logic can be used for any profession, but designers tend to be on one end of the spectrum of tidiness?or the other. There is also a theory that ?organized chaos? is the most ideal atmosphere for productivity because you know where everything is located (though it may not appear that way to at outsider), but you aren?t spending all of your time organizing. It?s kind of the middle of the road between chaos and clutter-free. I would call my house the epitome of organized-chaos, except I wouldn?t say I?m the most productive when I am there (hello reruns of Castle!).
At Moxie, we tend to have areas of everything-in-its-place and areas of what-tornado-went-through-there? On any given day, each of our desks has a stack of papers on it, along with a design magazine or two for reference piled on top. There are also the personal mementos like photos, special hand-written notes from loved ones, and a shark made out of yarn (everyone has one of these, right?). And let?s not forget the handy array of Post-It notes lining every computer screen. We each also have our limits to how much clutter we can take before we go into organizing mode. And then watch out, no one?s desk is safe!
Oh, and did I mention we also have a ?straightener?? A ?straightener? is a person who compulsively has the need to straighten stacks of magazines and CD cases, sometimes not even aware he/she is doing it. I won?t say who it is but you know who you are! :)
In the end, it all comes down to preference and what gets your creative brain working. If you need everything to be in its place in order to concentrate on the task at hand, then organize away. Just remember that it?s important to recognize the difference between organization and procrastination?the work still needs to get done.
So go, get started!
? Post written by Cristy Wiza.
