I came across a great website on Twitter today. Where We Design showcases design spaces from studios and agencies around the world.

I’ve been having a lot of fun browsing the photos of where other graphic designers work. Stuff like this really gets me motivated to make my own space more creative (still need to get around to hanging a couple things on the wall).

One of my favorites is this one in Tulsa, OK. I love the way the conference room is placed in the middle of everything and even raised up off of the floor a little.

In my design work, I’ve found that the state of my work area affects both my productivity and my creativity. For creativity I keep a lot of inspirational products, mailers, magazines, etc. around that I can browse when I need inspiration. I’ve also found that keeping my desk free from too much clutter helps me stay calm and productive. The messier my desk is the more stressed out I become.

What’s important to you in your workspace?

I recently experienced a great example of customer service on Twitter. It started when I complained about my web-hosting company (Earthlink) and mentioned that I was switching to Bluehost.

@basketsbybonnie responded to this post saying that she had been having problems with Earthlink as well and that she was considering moving her hosting to Network Solutions. Within a couple of hours both Bluehost and Network Solutions had responded to our discussion. Bluehost dropped in to say hi and Network Solutions also offered help if it was needed.

We recently finished the design for an annual report for Loma Linda University Medical Center. We’ve done their annual report for the last several years and it’s always a really fun project. I love the opportunity to work on a project like this from start to finish, being involved in everything from the concepts to photo shoots to press checks.

The theme for this report was HOPE, namely the hope that the medical center can bring it’s patients. We found various ways to translate this theme into the design. One of the primary ways we did this was to incorporate the sun into many of the photos. The sun combined with the vibrant color palette gives an uplifting feel to the entire piece.

Overall it was a fantastic project and I feel lucky to work with such great clients. I hope you’ll take a minute to view our portfolio and images of the annual report design.

Lately I’ve been wanting to make a point of posting a little more regularly on this blog. For quite a while now I’ve been posting once a month or so and that’s not exactly how a blog should be run. One of my problems is that I’m often unsure of what would interest visitors to this site but I think I may have a solution to that problem.

I’m on Twitter most every day for a significant portion of the day. My primary reason for being on Twitter is to keep an ear to the design community both so that I can stay up-to-date with design trends and so that I can find inspiration. Much of the inspiration I find on Twitter would probably be interesting to readers of this site so I’ve decided to pass some of it along.

This first post has nothing to do with graphic design but is still pretty awesome. Check out this video of an underwater explosion and just imagine being on that boat. Enjoy.

When I first heard the rumors that Apple was going to release a Multi-Touch mouse I was excited (probably more excited than I should have been). I’ve been using the Mighty Mouse for years but I’ve never loved it. It’s not horrible but my clumsy fingers have a tough time finding the right click. I figured the new Apple mouse could be the solution to all of my problems

When the Magic Mouse was actually posted to the Apple website I excitedly read through all of the features and stared at all of the slick photos. It seemed perfect. I called the Apple Store every day until they finally had them in stock and went it and bought it.

First impression was awe, as it typically is for Apple products. I loved the clear plastic box that it came in, I loved not being tied to a cord, I loved the smooth surface. It paired up well with my MacBook Pro and I quickly got to work with my new mouse. I noticed right away that the right click worked every time and I loved the ability to scroll using the entire top surface of the mouse.

I loved my new mouse for about a day. The flaws quickly became apparent. Although I mostly liked the new mouse, there were a couple of things that kept me from loving it and unfortunately they were deal breakers

The first problem is that it’s just too small to be used for extended periods of time. Initially I thought that I’d get used to it, that I just needed to learn to hold it properly. However, after a couple of days of design my hand and arm just started aching. This may not be a problem if you are only using your computer for an hour or two a day but for me, using it 8+ hours a day, it was a big problem (although I do know of at least one other designer that loves the mouse).

The second problem was that I’d accidentally swipe my finger across the top of the mouse while using InDesign or other design programs. It’s incredibly frustrating to be working on a document and suddenly jump to a new place. I’m aware that this problem is my own fault, and that if I were a little more coordinated I would be able to get used to using the mouse without accidental scrolling. But that’s not the case and it drove me crazy.

The Apple store gives you 14 days to return a product. I wanted to give the Magic Mouse a fair chance so I used my full 14 days but in the end I just couldn’t get used to it. As much as I wanted to love my shiny new Apple mouse I just couldn’t get used to it.

What do you think? Have you tried the Magic Mouse? Is it working for you?