2002 Cosy Corner Workspace in Copenhagen, Denmark

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Although she is a pestilence, always knocking things off my desk and refusing to move.

What software and new tech do you use to get things done?

I recently switched from QuarkXPress (goodbye, old dangly dongle) to Adobe InDesign, and it’s an improvement on many levels.

But Quark is still deeply embedded in me when I layout, so it takes some getting used to.

Adobe Illustrator is my new go-to for more technical illustrations, and I also use Photoshop a lot.

I’ve just upgraded to 7.0, which has a lot of cool new features for image editing.

And then there’s my new portable hard disk (SmartDisk VST FireWire 20GB), which has made it so easy to bring ongoing work back and forth between work, clients, printing houses, and home.

I still use Iomega Zip and Jaz drives, for example.

Everyone uses them somewhat.

And I still get clients’ design manuals and materials on CDs, and even in hard copy/binders.

But for a growing number of clients, I can now send large proofs and previews via the Internet by e-mail or FTP.

That saves a lot of time and trouble.

What books, magazines, or media recently caught your attention?

I’ve just read Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer.

It’s a book about memory, identity, and the pain of recall. But also much more. Just read it.

And recently, I met Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French artist and cartoonist.

He is a huge inspiration and such a nice person — probably one of the most important fantasy artists of our time.

I asked him for advice on what to do with my artwork, and he simply replied, “Oui, c’est la réponse” (Yes, that is the answer) :-)

I collect COLORS — a magazine about the rest of the world.

An Italian magazine from Benetton.

Stunning photos and interesting perspectives.

And I use the search engine Google for research.

They recently introduced Google Images, which allows users to search for and view images on the Internet.

Any tips for other makers who want to improve their workspaces?

If you have a workspace at home, make sure it fits with the rest of the interior and overall decor. 

You don’t want a boring everyday office setup “screaming” at you in the middle of your home.

Sitting on your couch, looking at a desk with a computer screen, scanner, printer, camera, and other devices, plus a thousand twisted cables, isn’t nice.

If you have the means, place it in a room of its own where you can close the door.

Otherwise, try to make it as aesthetic and simple as possible, and consider bespoke furniture or solutions to hide some of the hardware.

As the great Danish furniture and interior designer Verner Panton said, “You sit more comfortably on colours you like.”

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What does your typical day look like?

I work a lot. Sometimes all day and all night.

There are so many things I want to try out.

I love making websites with my friends, and doing art projects and illustrations with my girlfriend.

I recently went to a party hosted by Flat Eric (the puppet from Levi’s commercials, made by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop).

Oh boy, could that sausage-smoking yellow beat-puppet throw a party!

I started my career in advertising in the mid-90s, where we sometimes slept at the agency for days leading up to deadlines.

It was great fun.

There, I met many cool and wonderfully crazy people, some of whom became close friends.

I live in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, in a beautiful old building from 1886.

The neighbourhood is awesome but also a bit rowdy sometimes (by Danish standards), but the apartment was so cool, and we love the area!

So my girlfriend bought it! She has always had her finger on the pulse.

We discovered that a brothel recently moved into our building’s basement (where people sometimes kick the doors in, screaming and fighting), and there are a couple of illegal hash clubs nearby!

The police are always here.

We became parents just a few months ago to our lovely little boy, and are already looking to move to a calmer area.

Let’s see, maybe it will change.

I can feel something changing inside me after becoming a parent.

But the coffee is hot in the morning (and in the evening — sometimes at night).

There’s no end to the possibilities!

Your tips for working from home?

Make your workstation look good!

Integrate it with the rest of your home and keep it simple and cosy.

It’s work, sometimes for many hours, so it also has to be hygge (a Danish concept that describes a cosy, contented mood evoked by comfort and conviviality).

It’s almost dystopian (and somewhat alienating) to think that we might work exclusively from home in the future, but the rise of the internet and new tech somehow makes it a lot easier to imagine.

So far, I’m loving it.

Kind regards and take care out there,

Chris
Nørrebro, Denmark
2002

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