What’s on Your Desk: Michael Modoono

With so many different creative minds under one roof, we all organize our work in a different way. I spoke with Michael Modoono, one of Payette’s designers about his work space. At Payette we have an open plan office with similar table / desk setups for each staff member to facilitate collaboration. We have the ability to make our workstations mobile – moving to a new station should be seamless with rolling filing cabinets (many equipped with cushion tops to make a quick stool) and the same resources available at each station.

Michael and his team moved to a new desk location earlier this year in order for two other teams to collaborate on a new commission. Moving to a new location within the office enabled Michael to clean out his desk, scanning documents and drawings, minimizing piles of paperwork. In his year with Payette, Michael has found the open office plan to be very beneficial – he enjoys the transparency of the environment and learns a lot listening to how his colleagues conduct business and manage projects. He feels the open office encourages a more transparent culture overall and indicated he’s learned more about all of his colleagues because the visibility in the office supports collaboration.

Michael displays his Batman lunchbox (after all, if you are going have a lunchbox, have a great one!), recent project work for easy reference and a few plants. He also keeps a remote control helicopter on display, which he will occasionally fly around the studio on a Friday afternoon. Keeping project work on hand is extremely helpful – it inspires and serves as a quick reference point during discussions. While he enjoys the ambient noise and ability to drop in to different conversations in the open studio, Michael does keep headphones at his desk for the occasions when he needs to work uninterrupted.

What’s on your desk? Where do you find inspiration in the workplace?