My Desk at Work
The Desk Project continues at pace. I've uploaded a few images of my work desk, before a major tidy up I might add, showing the general state of mayhem that currently exists. You can see the set on Flickr here. I'll post further photos of the desk once I've tidied up.
What's the purpose of all this you might ask. Well, as I've written before, I've been researching people's computer desks. What do they look like, what equipment to they place on the desk, how it's laid out etc. Fascinating to see and I'll use some of the info to help define a "Design Brief" to aid the project.
I've got a vague idea of the main requirements I personally want to see in a desk and you can add your own thoughts to the comments. Next up I'll describe what I dislike in my current desks at both work and home.
Update 24/8/07: I've added more images of my desk at work after a big tidy up and a little bit of rejigging. I've moved the second monitor to the right and moved the drawers to the left. Still to add photos of my home office desk (kept much tidier).
posted by Ricky Dee at
8:05 PM
2 Comments:
Thought I should chip in with my thoughts, sorry this is so long, but you have got me interested!
My main grumble with most desks is ergonomics, specifically the inability to adjust the heights of things relative to each other. Most office chairs do a fine job of adjusting to fit me, but then the desk is at the wrong height, and the monitor/laptop/keyboard could do with shifting up or down a bit. So usually I end up getting sore elbows or wrists depending on how I sit.
Where I think concepts like smart space or “Net Throne” fall down is that in the real world a typical desk is not just used for working a computer. I am sure those concepts would be great for gaming or driving a CAD system, but what about when you want to sit back and have a cup of tea, or eat your lunch? The lack of a flat working area is always going to be a miss, where would you set the paperwork or book you were using, or lay out your receipts when doing expenses? I also expect that getting into and out of the things is a pretty ungainly process, which would soon get on the nerves.
In the past I have seen a couple of integrated desks that had a very traditional look, but had a workstation built into them. These offered no new functionality and little in the way of configuration options or adjustment, but they could clearly just be used as a desk when required. I think somewhere between these two extremes would be about right.
So after all that prattling on, here are some things for my wish list;
Ergonomics;
A height adjustable main desk area that has a good sized working area that can be made flat.
An independently height adjustable area at the rear of the desk suitable for setting monitors on, or attaching them to and giving a great range of motion. Ideally the monitors should have angle poise type adjustability to allow them to be positioned just right.
An independently height adjustable leading edge to the desk that has a rounded soft padded feel that is comfy for resting your arms on.
A permanently flat area that is suitable for repeatedly placing a (possibly damp) large hot mug on.
Cable/Computer;
A workstation storage area attached to the desk, this might need to be detachable or at least re-usable for users who only use a laptop. It must also be impervious to spilling the contents of the large hot mug often placed on top of the desk, and must give easy access to the front of the workstation.
Integrated cable management and power gantry (perhaps with a UPS included), so there are a number of external “power in” sockets that are switched, meaning you can use any one of them to plug the desk in, then plug all your gear into the desk with all cables/plugs being nicely hidden/tidy. This should allow the ability to kill power to the whole lot from one fairly easy to reach switch.
Built in network cable with a number of ports on the exterior of the desk so you can plug the desk into the network wall socket, then patch your workstation/laptop from any one of them (not necessarily a hub/switch in the desk, it could probably be just a common single socket).
Built in USB hub and microphone/headphone socket extenders, giving a number of convenient ports around the desk, so you can connect the workstation/laptop and plug all the peripheral connections in once, then plug into whatever external sockets make sense for the peripherals you plan to use.
For the display wires either a similar extender port/socket setup for the displays, or some integrated cable management that allows for the motion of the monitors without requiring any messing about with the cables when the screens are moved.
Storage;
Really I don’t use desk storage much, but it is good to have a drawer or two to hold the stuff you only use now and again, staplers and such.
By
Anonymous, at 21 August 2007 22:47
Excellent comment and pretty much in line with my current thinking.
By
Ricky Dee, at 22 August 2007 20:20
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