Pat ArmstrongInterview
Interaction and service designer
Adapted from Pat Armstrong's interview on Uses This, published 11 June 2021. The kit is drawn from their answers and each reason is an excerpt, lightly edited. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full interview ↗
Is this you? Claim this kit →Hardware
Computer & accessories: Right now I use one of the 2016 13" MacBook Pros (no touchbar).
Microsoft make this strange folding Bluetooth mouse(!!!) that I love - you can flatten it out and throw it into a laptop sleeve.
I really want to like mechanical pencils, but have found them too expensive and fiddly in practice, so mostly use regular pencils for sketching (I have a box of Tombow MONO 100s that I am working my way through at the moment).
I definitely do not need a Möbius+Ruppert solid brass pencil sharpener, but I am very glad that I have one.
My usual bags are a Rimowa Topas 32L Multiwheel suitcase, and an Outlier Ultrahigh Rolltop backpack.
I take a 62L Muji Polycarbonate Hard Case if I ever need to check luggage.
…etc: A Nintendo Switch is not really a work item, but I mainly use mine on work trips, so I guess it belongs in this section.
Work has very kindly offered me an Aeron Chair from the office, but it feels like overkill in our tiny house.
I did get an Elgato Key Light Air at some point in the last year, which was almost certainly overkill.
I also have that Brother mono laser printer that everyone seemed to buy last year.
Communication
I'll sit on the couch, at the kitchen table, or at a tiny folding desk in the corner of the bedroom, depending on which part of the house is quiet (or if I need nice lighting and an inoffensive background for a Zoom call).
Productivity
Lastly I'm sure I'm not pushing the limits of LaunchBar by any means, but I still feel like I'm working with one hand behind my back on any computer without it.
Notes
Outside of work I use Notion a lot for life admin.
Coding & Development
Design
Like most people doing this sort of work, I spend a lot of time on Zoom and Miro these days.