Gaurang Alat is a Growth Product Designer working at Thumbtack. Working at a remote-first organization means he can have complete freedom in designing his workspace. Outside of work, he enjoys photographing concerts, DJing and playing tennis.
What items are in your workspace?
Herman Miller Sayl (chair)
Autonomous Standing Desk
Keychron K7 65% wireless keyboard
Logitech MX Master 3 (mouse)
M1 Macbook Air (personal laptop)
16in Macbook Pro (work laptop)
Logitech Streamcam (webcam)
Pioneer DM-40 Monitors (speakers)
Belkin wireless charger Mi LED Desk Lamp (from Xiaomi)
What software is important for your daily work as a product designer?
Figma
Slack for work comms
Soundcloud/Spotify for music
Notion for personal notes
Google Chrome
UpNext for MacOS (to show upcoming meetings for the day)
What is your favorite item in your workspace?
The M1 Macbook Air is hands down my favorite item. Don't let the lightweight and sleek appearance fool you, it's a powerful machine that has a fantastic battery life. A second favorite item would be the Pioneer DDJ-400 controller that I use to practice my mixing skills and DJ from time to time.
How do you spark creativity?
Some of you may relate, but long showers really spark my creativity. A close second option is looking at physical print media such as posters, brochures and book covers.
How do you manage work-life balance?
I firmly believe in setting boundaries when it comes to work and life, and making sure my work does not become my personal identity (being known as a designer at XYZ). I don't have my work email account logged into my phone and I rarely check Slack on my phone. Luckily, I enjoy a great work-life balance at my organization and I could not be more happy working here.
