Notable Magazine

Not ble DEC. 2021

THE DESK OF KEL LAUREN

THE BEAUTY OF SUCCESS: EXPLAINED

Notable

CONTENTS DEC.

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2021

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DESKPRESS YOURSELF

SETUP FOR SUCCESS

ABOUT KEL LAUREN

Understand the ins and outs of desk aesthetics. Ergonomics, colors, lighting, and ease of workflow play a role in building the perfect workspace.

Learn what you need as a young professional. Regardless of your field, you are going to want CV resources, networking tips, and organization.

Here's an introduction to a rapidly growing young graphic designer. They have gained lots of tractions over the last couple of years.

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Kel's desk offers insight into their brain. Having a few knick knacks never hindered anybody's workflow.

From the Tumblr #studyblr exodus to the new Instagram trend, #studygram, see what Tina's Take on aesthetics.

Coffee shops are the new remote workplace. People love them for their cozy atmosphere. Others feel productive sipping a latte.

THE DESK OF KEL LAUREN

'GRAM GLAM

CAFE CRAZE

Unlock your deskthetic.

Deskpress Yourself

by Jonathan James

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No matter your personal decor preference, there is something you can do to boost the creative vibe in your office.

WHY SHOULD I MAKE MY WORKSPACE CREATIVE?

There are many reasons to incorporate a creative workspace design in your home office. Firstly, harnessing your creativity can help you be more productive at work.

Secondly, working in a creative space can help boost your mood and make your workday fly by quickly. Finally, it’s nice to spend time in a room you love. The good vibes spillover from your workday into the rest of your life, improving your overall well-being.

should be parallel to the ground, putting your elbows at a 90-degree angle. This can easily be achieved with an adjustable keyboard tray or a height adjustable desk chair.

MAKING THE DESK SET UP VISUALLY APPEALING

Here is where you get to express yourself through the design process as a whole.

Colors Choosing a color scheme and sticking with it is the simplest way to give your desk setup a cohesive look.

can use these as a jumping off point and build a color scheme around these things.

Lighting Perhaps the most overlooked element when it comes to designing visually appealing desk setups.

And we’re not talking about the RGB lights on your peripherals. Lighting helps to bring out depth and color in your setup in a very fine tuned way.

Alternatively, bad lighting can make even the best setups look flat and dull.

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

First and foremost, you’ll want your desk to be easy and enjoyable to use: It doesn’t matter if you have the best looking set up in the world if it makes using it something you dread to do.

WORKFLOW

Before you start designing your new desk setup, you should know everything you want to be using the desk for. Is it for late night gaming sessions? Browsing the web?

Long hours working on writing and editing documents? A mix of all of these?

Logitech has minimal and ergonomic technology. Photo by Angela Ajazz.

Keep in mind other things you use or want to use your desk for. Everything from taking notes to reading books to streaming on Twitch. It might be a good idea to write down everything you do at your desk. You’ll want to keep all these things in mind throughout the desk setup design process so that you can make the design work with you, and not against you.

ERGONOMICS

When designing your desk setup, consider ergonomics. If you’re going to be sitting down at your desk for any considerable amount of time, you’ll want it to be set up comfortably and health-minded. It’s a good idea to do research to figure out what ergonomic setup will work best for your needs. For instance, when typing or writing at your desk, your forearms

The simple tips we can give are these: Make sure your colors have consistent scheme: choose 3-5 colors that match.

Going a little farther, you can choose one color to be your base color, like white or grey, and then choose one or more colors to be accent colors. This tactic helps to avoid overwhelming the eyes.

Decorations Little knick-knacks and personal items placed in key areas of your desk can often be what takes your setup from a generic desk setup to one with personality. Action figures, Succulents, or art work on the walls can go a long way in making your desk your own, all while making the setup look that much better.

Choose colors you like: you’re the one who’s going to be looking at them all day.

It’s important to feel good about color.

INSPIRATION

Choose colors you know you’ll like, not what is trendy. Choose colors that match what you already have: Sometimes painting the room is out of the question, or you have a desk you already want to use. If something like this is the case, you

Getting stuck? Try looking up inspiration to get you started. You can look up cool desk setups on Pinterest, and there are also some YouTubers that cover the topic or have compilations of different setups. TechSource has a great series of inspiration on gaming setups called “Setup wars.”

5 | Notable

Photo by Maria Sobh.

T

he online world today has offered limitless opportunities for people, young and old. Anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur, influencer, or marketing specialist can use the power of innovation to create a name in the online market and industry.

Nowadays, young professionals are proving that their skills, knowledge, zest, and creativity can have a big part in the journey of searching for success.

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1

Use Harvard Resume Resources HARVARD UNIVERSITY

offers a wide array of resources that are open to the public.

Harvard’s Office of Career Services (OCS) carry job and internship resources that are useful for its students as well as anybody interested in boosting their professional profile.

https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu

“

They offer several templates for resumes, CV, and cover letters.

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”

—Debby Smullyan

Get on LinkedIn JOB RECRUITERS AND MANAGERS ARE ON LINKEDIN

LinkedIn will help you find a job faster because most hiring managers and recruiters are already using it. A whopping 87% of recruiters find LinkedIn to be the most effective when vetting candidates during the hiring process – especially those under 45 (90%).

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seriously a game changer.

GREAT NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

LinkedIn also offers you an excellent opportunity to network with other professionals in your field. The faster you start this networking, the better it will be down the line. You can make use of your network of connections if you are looking for other opportunities for employment in your field.

Organize with Notion NOTION

is one of the most popular and flexible tools. It’s an all-in-one productivity solution and it’s simply one of the best tools.

Notion is incredibly flexible.

It can be task management software, a workout calendar, a database, and so much more. It gets your life together!

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Photo by Chloe Billingsley.

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k.l. kel lauren K

el Lauren (they/them) is a Graphic Designer & t-shirt enthusiast on unceded Cowlitz Land (Portland, OR), specializing in merchandise, admats as well as album design.

Aside from merchandise design, Kel teaches Graphic Design through Youtube.

Their goal is to make design education accessible to all seeking to learn for free.

Kel is also committed to making design safe and accessible to all. They are vehemently anti-fascist, anti-racist, and pro-LGBTQIA2S+.

K

el received their Associate of Arts Degree in Graphic Design from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM LA-‘16).

Kel has an extensive private portfolio, shared on a case by case basis with serious clients in interested in design work.

They are currently freelancing for Bravado/ UMG, Warner Music, Sony, United Artist Management, and Take & Thrown.

They formerly worked at Live Nation Merchandise for a few years.

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by Chloe Billingsley 9 | Notable

I love being

"

art that

I like.

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surrounded by

"

Photo by Taylor Pendleton.

Photo of Kel's desk by Kel Lauren.

A

s a full-time self-employed graphic designer and freelancer, Kel works from home all the time.

For the past year and a half, they have been a full time freelancer alongside running their YouTube channel. Needless to say, having a comfortable workspace is imperative for their success.

One of their favorite things about their desk is the wall behind it. It is filled with art that means a lot to them– and art that shows the meaning of being a creative.

This wall showcases Lauren’s work along with some art made by other artists, like Luka Grafera’s illustrative poster about the Portland Protests.

“I love being surrounded by art that I really like,” said Kel. Their desk is a 42-inch Husky Workbench from The Home Depot. Lauren found that one of the biggest issues with some of their old desks is that they were not very sturdy. This Home Depot workbench ended up being a blessing from the

hardware department store. Kel loves the crank on the side. Paired with an ergonomic chair and Kel claims their back pain is completely gone.

Kel has learned which organization methods best work for them. The ideal type of storage for them provides relative organization paired with some “junk drawers” to stash away miscellaneous items. They use a vertical drawer box, placed right next to the workbench.

They have a Wacom tablet for giving their designs and illustrations an organic, handmade look and feel. The wrist rest they use with the tablet and mouse means their arm stays off the desk and it does not become sore as often as it used to get.

Kel keeps a sketchbook nearby. They like to have quick access to brainstorm ideas and dump whatever visuals they wish to execute. According to them, it helps with their design process a ton as it helps them mentally articulate their ideas. Their favorite notebook is a gridded Moleskine.

They said “it goes with them everywhere.”

They have an iPad and Apple Pencil for heavier illustration work. For them, the Wacom is more for general computer use and precise design work. They find it easier to create and exchange illustrations with the iPad, as the Procreate app permits them to transfer files across different platforms as well as create infinite sized pieces.

“This setup took me a very, very long time to build. Figuring out what I like, what works best for me, best for my budget– all of that. Do not think that–as a student– you need to go build this desk setup.”

"You don’t need to spend a lot of money to make good work."

—Kel Lauren Second-hand stores offer great options at a much lower price. Again, it did take a couple years for them to fully flesh out this space. You can always start simple.

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'Gram Glam

by Tina Waldorf

TINA'S TAKE ON: PRODUCTIVITY AS AESTHETIC AND AS A MODE OF BEING

Studyblr is mostly gone now, lost with Tumblr and migrated to Instagram, where nearly all of Tumblr’s cultural exports have ended up, but its promise remains as enticing as ever. You, too, can take notes that look beautiful and spend time studying in a way that is not simply functional but in fact beautiful.

Studygrammers share pictures of their notes and study spaces to inspire students around to the world.

On Studyblr, productivity wasn’t just a method by which to create more time for passions, but a passion unto itself. The promise of the technique and its prevalence on the site was implicit: by following these simple instructions, your life could look like this as well.

The #studygram community is incredibly positive and supportive. Studygrammers typically encourage others to share thoughts and tips in the comments, so you can feel part of an active community that supports studying and creative expression.

The popular Instagram hashtag, #studygram, has created a positive study community that connects Instagrammers looking to share their study journey through bullet journaling, diagrams, study tips, notes and so forth. And studygram, a clever portmanteau of “study” and “Instagram,” in its simplest form is a study motivation page.

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If you are scrolling on Instagram, when you should be studying for that test next week, a sudden studygram post could motivate you to get off the phone and go study!

This has really changed the game for all

studious nerds. Even if you are not in school, these aesthetic posts are inspiring enough to get me off the couch and at my desk to get some work done! I'm here for it.

Since the Tumblr exodus to Instagram, aesthetic shots of workspaces and productivity have united a community.

Photography by Ghen Mar Cuaño and Emmanuel Ikwuegbu collaboratively.

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COFFEE

SHOPS :

Photography by Evelyn Semenyuk.

THE NEW REMOTE WORKPLACE Written by Robin Mayweather As more and more people take on work from home positions and remote learning courses, coffee shops are becoming the new remote workplace. While employers or educational institutions once may have been hesitant to open up these opportunities, advances in technology keep remote individuals engaged and offer the accessibility they need. These advantages enable them to complete their work to a the same quality as in-person assignments given.

relaxed atmosphere, informal attire, freedom and flexibility have a positive impact on their self-worth, commitment to their work and responsibility level.

Studies show that employees benefit in multiple ways from remote working opportunities. Known as the "coffee shop effect," employees report increased focus and productivity while working remotely in cafes. The background noise and lack of coworker interruptions keep individuals on task.

Studying or working from a coffee shop may completely change the way you accomplish your goals. Whether you visit the cafe Monday through Friday or if you just pop in occasionally, this pseudo workspace can be a fantastic location to focus and maximize your productivity.

From a health standpoint, many people report lower blood pressure, stress and anxiety levels when working remotely. The

When getting work done at a coffee shop, remember to treat the space like your job site. Otherwise, you might risk wasting time.

Employees enjoy doing work at a coffee shop, and employers reap the benefits of productivity and remote work as well. Many companies are embracing remote opportunities for their workers.

Technology connects their staff to the necessary software and allows them to stay in communication with their teams.

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Brewing B uddha Cafe & Arthouse

have a cup of bliss Notable | 16