341 - Gavin Nelson

Gavin Nelson is currently a Senior Product Designer at GitHub, helping shape the future of GitHub Mobile.

On the side, he creates app icons for a wide variety of clients, some of which you're definitely familiar with.

Twitter (X) → twitter.com/Gavmn

Inside Gavin's Workspace

Gavin was previously featured in edition #136 of Workspaces. There have been some changes to his workspace since his last feature.

He replaced his old LG5K monitor with Apple’s Studio Display and got a second generation HomePod to replace his wired desktop speakers. He switched back to my Magic Keyboard for the ease of TouchID and the Magic Trackpad for gesture control, better Universal Control support and smoother panning and zooming. A personal Mac Mini now sits on his desk too for backups and file serving that he usually accesses through screen sharing.

Physical workspace tools:

• Apple Studio Display
• M1 Mac Mini (personal)
• M1 Pro MacBook Pro (work)
• 2018 iPad Pro
• HomePod
• AirPods Max (I love these things and am really hoping Apple has an update for them up their sleeve)
• Shure MV7
• Steelcase Gesture
  

His favorite digital tools:

• Things
• Note taking app (at the time of writing I’m using Bear but it changes so often I’m not going to pretend I can pick one definitively)
• Figma + Sketch + Blender for design work
• Eagle
• Cleanshot + Raycast + Bartender

What did you consider when making upgrades to your workspace?

A lot of the changes were driven by a desire for more minimalism or forms and aesthetics that I preferred. Some were driven by faulty function (looking at you, LG5K and previous microphone stand). Keeping my workspace clean and minimal makes me feel a whole lot less stressed when I sit down to do work.

What do you think is the main benefit of remote work?

I love the flexibility that remote work offers. Working remotely allows me to focus on working in the environments and at the times where I’m feeling most productive rather than prescribe that I commute to and from work and am at my desk from 9–5. I often will go for a mid day dog walk or go out to a local coffee shop to work for the afternoon and recently have been starting work between 6–7am as I find I really enjoy being an early riser!