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In honour of Back to the Future Day on October 21, we’re showcasing Chris’ 2002 home workspace.

He’s shared a snapshot of what working from home looked like 22 years ago, offering a glimpse into how much things have changed — and how some things remain timeless.

As Chris puts it, “Everything was still so low-tech and mixed media, but at the same time on the threshold of a new digital world. We could all feel it! It was a time of playfulness and discovery.”

Join us on this nostalgic journey.

Name: Chris

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Occupation: Interactive Art Director and Illustrator

Room size: A corner in the living room

Cost of setup: $1,5K

Date: November 2002

Hello! Tell us a bit about yourself

Hello, my name is Chris, and this is my creative corner/home office in our apartment in Nørrebro, Copenhagen.

During the day, I work as an Interactive Art Director and Illustrator at a large Danish IT & e-Business consulting company.

A sequence of images with a person wearing a paper bag over their head performing various playful, physical actions in a minimalist room with a black sofa, a cowhide rug, and a large potted plant

It survived the dot-com bubble, so everyone is excited. Next year, I will become a partner — so fingers crossed.

When I’m at home, I mostly work on my own projects.

I create illustrations, comics, and graphics for magazines and the Internet.

One of my comic strips has just been censored and discontinued by a popular magazine.

A General Secretary from one of the magazine’s primary channels said it was the most disgusting and violent cartoon he had ever seen, and he would terminate the collaboration if it continued!

So my monthly doom-doodles and I were fired.

A set of comic strips in Danish

I think the strip just showed the ugliest sides of our inner thoughts that are not acted upon, in a counterfactual, humorous way.

I think the General Secretary might have misunderstood the point, unlike the readers, where it tested as very popular.

Well, I probably shouldn’t even show it here, but here it is.

Viewer discretion is apparently advised :-)

Take us through your setup

Item Model
Computer Apple eMac G4/700 MHz, 128MB SDRAM, 40GB HD
Mouse Apple Pro Mouse
Portable Hard Disk SmartDisk VST FireWire 20GB
Internet connection ADSL Broadband 512 kbps
Camera Ricoh RDC-7
Markers Copic Markers
Letraset Grey Markers
Pens Various black ball point and ink pens
Colour guides Pantone Formula Guide Set
Lamp IKEA TERTIAL
Desktop cat Mille (a former stray harbour cat)
Desk Vintage NIKE Hydraulics Cast Iron Drafting Table from 1950s DTU (Technical University of Denmark)

The home office is located in a corner of the living room, so it can’t take up too much space.

Creativity is a big part of my everyday life, but it’s important that it doesn’t look too office-like when I get home from work.

It needs to fit in naturally with the rest of the decor, while also being inviting.

A vintage drafting table holds an Apple eMac G4, Copic markers, an IKEA TERTIAL lamp, and a glass of water, with a cat sitting behind the supplies near the window

I love my new eMac, which just launched in April.

It has replaced my old iMac G3 and is a huge upgrade.

An Apple eMac G4 computer with a clear, white keyboard and a translucent Apple Pro Mouse, displaying the macOS desktop interface on its screen

It has a G4 processor, Firewire ports, and a larger 17″ screen, and the design is super cool and simple.

And it’s white!

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I had looked at the special edition iMac G3 Snow White from last year, but then Apple came out with the new white eMac G4, and after that, there was no doubt.

The back view of two classic Apple desktop computers: an iMac G3 in translucent blue and an Apple eMac G4, both placed on a wooden table in a home or office setting

And then there’s my new Internet connection.

I went from a dial-up modem to a whopping 512K ADSL connection. Internet, here I come. “All your base are belong to us” :-)

Also, my Ricoh RDC-7, a three-megapixel digital (still and video) camera.

This image shows a Ricoh RDC-7 camera on the left side, with its distinct flip-up LCD screen visible. On the right, a reflection of a person crouching and taking a photo with the same camera is captured in a glass door or window, with a waterfront and buildings in the background

I still use my tiny and indestructible Nokia 8210 from 2000.

I’ve just got the new Nokia 6100 as a company phone. It’s great, but not as cool design-wise.

And of course, there’s Mille, the desktop cat.