Web design working conditions

As a web designer or developer we spend a lot of our day sat at our desk gazing into the screen of our computers unaware of the world which rolls by around us during those long hours. Now whilst sitting at our computers I feel that I must hand over the following information as it is a collection of factors that have helped me carve my web design working environment into one that is not only creative and inpiring, but one that enables my creative flow to keep running at all times.

Creativity with music

The first factor that helps creativity is music. I find that I can conjure even more enthusiasm as music is being fed into my ears, humming along to a tune out loud or in my head, I find this helps my trail of concentration on something more than being sat in silence. Whereas I do find the opposite if I am listening to music that isn’t to my taste, or having a distracting background noise such as television or friends in conversation.

Keep hydrated

The second factor is water. A healthy body makes for a healthy mind in my opinion, keeping my body fresh helps to keep my ideas fresh, and there is nothing worse than being sat in front of my mac with a mouth as dry as a desert, I find it both annoying and distracting, hydration is definatly a key to keeping creativity pouring out from your hand and into your work.

Think about posture

The third is set-up/posture. Now your posture when sat at your computer is very important and I cannot stress this enough. As you sit at your computer for hours on end, the way you sit can have long term effects on your body. A few well known pointers are to ensure that your eyes are level with the screen and you are not looking up at it. Keep your shoulders and back relaxed at all times and keep your feet flat to the floor, not dangling under you. Sit back in your chair as leaning forward puts extra strain on your neck to support your head, let your spine and the chair do the work for you. Also to help protect your eyes if you are in a dimly lit room, turn the brightness of your screen down so you are not squinting your eyes.

Also a rule that I once read and always stick to is every 20 minuets, look away from the screen for 20 seconds. Why not use this time to pour yourself another glass of water?

I know these may only be simple changes to your normal working condition, but they will sure help in the long run to keep your body and mind healthy, functional and creative.