Best Work from Home Gear for Creative Directors

 

Throughout the years of being a Marketing Professional, Creative Director and Photographer, many people have asked me about my setup. What tools do I rely on in my daily work life? I recently shared what I consider to be the best gear for creative directors. This setup is my pre-covid setup when I went into office everyday. Just a bit of a warning; if you are an Apple hater you might want to stop here. With the current covid-19 situation we are all facing along with some personal matters, I’ve been stuck a far way from my office and have had to adapt with a few different tools to efficiently work from home.

Here they are below.

13″ Macbook Pro

When I initially purchased the Macbook Pro it was more as a back-up to my desktop which I would use for quick check-ins while traveling so the specs on it aren’t the best especially in terms of storage. At the beginning of the pandemic; this wasnt an issue as it was more than enough to get the smaller projects done. Overtime however; I realized that I had to make further additions to my work from home gear as I ran out of space and had to get some external storage which I share next.

Do your own research and get what suits you within your budget. I do suggest to get the highest specs and storage you can. Here’s a link for all the details so you can compare and make the best choice for your needs.

Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD 500GB External Solid State Drive Portable โ€“ USB-C USB 3.0 for PC, Mac

The Seagate Barracuda was my choice for external storage on the basis that its very small with a good amount of space and fast. It was a plus that it uses USB -C to work with my Macbook Pro.

DeskView Standing Desk

As I’ve stated previously; I had been staying in a hotel for a few months pre-pandemic and was having some back issues from working on the couch. Once the pandemic became a thing and moving got pushed back even further, I decided that I needed to get a desk. I wanted something that wouldn’t take up too much of my already limited space and found the DeskView. This turned out to be a great choice for me. I’ve since moved into a pretty spacious apartment and am still happy using the DeskView on the sliding doors as a part of my work from home gear.

The DeskView is portable window mounted standing desk.

Learniture Stool

Having a standing desk is great, but you may want to be able to rest your legs from time to time and this stool is the perfect match. It allows you to kind of lean against it in a comfortable position and also found it to help with my back.

Apple Magic Mouse 2

I love this mouse. Some may disagree but I just love the flow of easy actions you can do with this mouse. You can customize the actions and its reasonably priced. Additionally; I can pair this mouse with the iPad Pro as well which I find useful when editing image on the iPad.

Apple iPad Pro 11″

I normally use my Gen 2 12.9″ย  iPad Pro with Apple Pencil & Keyboard for in person meetingsย  where I may be presenting concepts to a client or quick emails when on the go. Currently though; with no in person meetings and being away from my office gear; I decided to go with the 11″ for use now as well as for future travel.

Since i’m currently working from home and always have my laptop handy, I decided to go without the smart keyboard for now (i’ll provide an update if that changes as i’m still weighing the cost of a $300 keyboard that I may not really need). I’m mostly using this during the design process. Sketching out concepts/ layouts, etc to share with my design team. Also, I find it extremely useful when providing feedback to my design and production team. It allows me to mark-up images and designs and do mock-ups of changes I’d like to see. Works great in the design process for brand identity, websites, signage and so many other projects.ย  This tool is great for getting things done efficiently.

By all means, feel free to explore other tablets that my have these capabilities as well. I personally love the iPad Pro and been using this in my design work flow for the last four years.

JBL Noise Cancelling Headphones

Working in a small apartment; with my other half working as well has created a greater need for these headphones. He is on phone calls all day and this can be distracting for me. Previously; I only used these for a small number of situations such as; maybe listening with intent to a recorded ad pre approval. Now I use these all the time especially with noise cancelling turned on with music, jus t so I can focus on what i’ve got going on instead of hearing my better halve’s work conversations and getting thrown off my own thoughts.

Apple AirPods

These are my everyday headphones. I use these mostly for online meetings and phone calls.
In fact I use them so much, I’m about to replace them with the same ones again. Sure; there are newer models available that include wireless charging andย  noise cancelling, but i’m happy with this model. Feel free to explore and select your best wireless headphones that make online calls a breeze. I recommend this as the best headphones for creative directors.

Apple Watch

To me any series of the Apple Watch is fine. I spent over $1,000 on my series 2 and have no intention of upgrading in the near future because it works just as well as the Series 6. Certainly a few features may be missing but I don’t really have a need for them. Sure it would be helpful to be able to take a call without having my phone, but when do I ever really not have my phone anyway. I’d say never so that’s not enough for an upgrade.

I like to have my apple watch when i’m working because it allows me to do certain things without having to reach for my phone. I find it most helpful when i’m in situations where I need to take a call but maybe i’m in the middle of something. If i’m on a photoshoot for example, I will take a call with my watch instead of my phone. Outside of that; I can quickly preview messages to see if they are urgent enough for me to stop what i’m doing or I can get back to them later.

My apple watch adds a lot to my daily life so much so that I have other watches that cost way more and get used significantly less because the apple watch offers so much. Quite often if i’m in a meeting or presentation and my phone is going crazy with messages, I can quickly look down at my watch and see whats going on without rudely distracting from the meeting. I can immediately know if it’s something urgent that i may need to excuse myself or I can simply ignore.

iPhone

Now more than every, your phone is essential to your work like since many of us are working from home. This makes it a given in my opinion. If you are going to use an Macbook, iPad, Apple Watch then you might as well have an iPhone too.
These devices all play really well together making your workflow as simple as possible which I think is essential for us creative directors.

I use an iPhone XS, but by all means go explore the world of iPhone and get the one you believe to be the best as a part of your work from home gear.

Instant Vortex Pro Air Fryer Oven 9 in 1 with Rotisserie, 10 Qt, EvenCrisp Technology

You probably saw the image for the Instant Vortex and thought to yourself that this must be a mistake. Definitely not a mistake.
Staying at home now requires that we have to figure out what to eat and possibly prepare it too. I do use food delivery but on occasion; I do prefer to just prepare a quick, simple healthy meal and the Instant Vortex allows me to create meals so much faster than using an oven or in some cases even stove top. This baby has saved me so much time so I can stay focused on work. As a result, I consider this to be a must have as a part of your work from home gear.

Summary of the best gear for creative directors.












Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *