Incorporating Minimalism into the Design of Your Workspace
In this guest post for Nandita Sampat Creations, I talk about how to incorporate minimalism into your workspace. Make sure you give Nandita’s blog a read as she makes some really good graphic designs and branding content.
You can view this post on Nandita Sampat Creations here: https://www.nanditasampat.com/post/minimalism_home_decor
Minimalistic designs are very simplistic and don’t have a lot of detail on them. For example, minimalist clothes have solid colours and don’t have any pictures or patterns on them. The typography doesn’t use fancy fonts such as Gothic either. Instead, the fonts used are more block-like, such as the design I have used for my blog heading. In abstract art, the drawings are characterised using few colours and simple geometric designs.
Often when people think of minimalism, they think of living with the bare minimum and getting rid of 90% of your possessions. But this is far from the truth… So, what exactly is minimalism?
- It is a way of eliminating unnecessary things so you can focus on what matters
- Incorporates simple designs
- It allows you to focus on having experiences
- It causes less stress
So now we’ve established some of the key points about minimalism, why have a minimalist desk set up?
- It removes clutter and distractions so you can focus on your work better
- It’s easier to clean your desk
- You only have possessions that mean something to you e.g. why have loads and loads of pens, when you could have a few quality pens instead?
Hopefully, you have sorted through all your things on your desk and decided what to keep and what not to keep. You can see the post I did for Sweeney’s Blogs on how to decide what to keep and what to ditch here.
How to Set Up Your New Desk Space
When it comes to minimalist setups, less is more. This means you’ll have more space to work, and you will have to spend less time having to tidy up your things. Here’s how you can set up your desk, minimalist style.
DESK ORGANISERS AND ACCESSORIES
Get a Desk Organiser/ Desk Tray
Desk organisers and trays are a simple way to sort your pens and other accessories, so I strongly recommend getting one. It is also very easy to clean too. No need for a pen holder, paper holder, phone holder, paper holder, etc… You can find some good ones here:
- Bamboo Desk Organiser (for the eco-warrior)
- Mesh Desk Organiser
- Ted Baker Space & Time Brogue Desk Tray (to treat yourself)
- Bamboo Organiser Tray (a simple yet effective way to organise your stuff)
Get This HARTE LED Work Lamp from IKEA – This minimalistic lamp is made of aluminium and won’t take up a lot of space at all. You can get it in several colours including black, white, and even yellow. It has an A+ rating with its LED light, which lasts a lot longer than incandescent bulbs. Plus, you can even connect it to your computer via the USB port. Find it here.
Viking Has This Great Bundle – This mesh bundle comes with a bin, pen pot, file organisers, and letter rack. All this for £19.99! All the equipment you’ll need for your minimalist desk set up. Find it here.
MINIMALIST STATIONERY SET
Get Minimalist Stationery – This minimalist stationery will be a great addition to your new minimalist desk space. Minimalistic stationery should have simple designs e.g. notebooks should be solid colours and have no patterns and minimal text on them.
Ideally, all your stationery should be the same colour and make, which is why it’s a good idea to get sets.
Some good brands are Moleskin, JAM PAPER, and MUJI. I’ve found Japanese stationery often incorporates minimalism into the design of their stationery, so it’s worth taking a look at.
Here is some stationery I’ve found to give you some ideas:
Pens
- MUJI 0.5mm Gel Ink Ballpoint Pen (Pack of 5)
- Matte Black Fountain Pen
- Faber Castell 2010 Grip Ballpoint Pen
- Parker Jotter Ballpoint Pens (Pack of 3)
Pencils
- Faber Castell 2001 HB Pencils Set
- BIC Evolution Pencils (Pack of 4 or 12)
- BIC Evolution Pencils (Pack of 4)
- Toruiwa HB Pencils (Pack of 20)
Highlighters
Accessories
- JAM PAPER Modern Desk Stapler
- JAM PAPER Multi-Purpose Precision Scissors
- Genuine Leather Pen Case
- Neoprene Pencil Case
- JAM PAPER Office & Desk Set
- Aluminium Ruler Maths Set
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, if you like simple designs or you want to tackle clutter on your desk, then a minimalist set up could be beneficial for you. Not only will you find it easier to keep your desk clean, but you will be able to focus better as there will be fewer distractions. I hope this guide was useful, and now you have a better idea of how to set up your new workspace.