316 - Dan Otis

Dan Otis is a Senior Visual Designer at Oura Ring.

He was previously a designer with BASIC @ Google, Huge, and Bukwild.

He also puts together an annual "best of" list. The most recent list, "Best of 2022" is sure to take you on a little trip down memory lane.

Twitter → twitter.com/danotis
Discogs → discogs.com/user/danotis

Inside Dan's Workspace

Items:

• Apple M1 MacBook Pro 13”
• iPad Pro 12.9” with Magic Keyboard
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• LG 5k 27” Display
• Spotify Car Thing
• Logitech MX Master 3
• IQUNIX OG80 Dark Side Mechanical Keyboard
• Apple HomePod Gen1
• Oura Ring Gen3 Horizon
• Laura Davidson Bowery Chair
• Beats Fit Pro, Black
• Fluance RT85 Turntable
• Audioengine A5 Speakers
• On the wall I have a skull with Mickey hat print from Failed Imagineer (Christopher Michon) and two larger prints, both from Draplin Design Company‍
• IKEA Alex Drawers, Black
• IKEA Karlby Countertop
• Milky Way Candle from Fireproof Coffee‍
• Apple AirPods Max, Space Grey
  

Tools:

• Figma
• Spotify
• Notion
• Slack
• Obsidian
• Copilot
• Things 3
• Any Distance
• Matter
• MusicBox - This one is a favorite and helps me plan out my annual end of the year, favorite albums list.

What is your favorite item in your workspace?

My current favorite is the little picture frame my 1 year old made for me at daycare for Father’s Day this year and is now hanging on my wall.

But also the Fluance RT85 Turntable. The advent of remote work has provided a lot more time for me to be able to enjoy my record collection. I was able to upgrade my setup last year and it’s been a game changer for the listening experience.

How do you spark creativity?

Depending on how quickly I need it, I will either put my AirPods Max with noise canceling on and play something like Bonobo or one of Tycho’s old sunrise sets and just get into it. Or, if I have the time, I’ll go for a walk or run, or take a Peloton ride to clear my head for a bit. Disconnecting or leaving the screen tends to help a lot. I’m also very lucky in that the view from the window in my office is of a giant field that goes on to the foothills so I find myself often taking restful moments throughout the day and just looking out at that when I need to think.

What does your typical daily routine look like?

I’m a dad of two boys, both under 5, so mornings tend to be pretty chaotic and unpredictable. If they’re out the door with enough time to spare, I’ll try to clean the house (I can’t think if the place is a mess), go for a run, or catch up on some reading before clocking in around 9. After that I generally block my mornings for any meetings or check-ins with the team and leave time in the afternoon for deep work. It doesn’t always go as planned but I’ve found it to be super helpful to get all my meetings out early on so I can really focus for the rest of the day. Evenings tend to be pretty wild as well once the boys are home from daycare. After dinner, baths, and bedtime for them I usually relax on the couch with my wife and our dachshund while we watch some TV.