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Posted 2 years ago

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Patrick Kalyanapu (♥pk)

1.) What is your name and where in the WWW (Whole Wide World) do you live?

pk:  My name is Patrick. The last name is Kalyanapu, which is apparently hard for people to spell and/or pronounce, so in recent years most people just call me “pk”. I have several online residences, including Madebypk.com (my portfolio), Introversion.com (my old blog, dating back to 2001), Slackluster.com (my brand new blog!), and Wetmilk.com (my experimental art site, launching soon).

2.) What do you do for a living, what pays the bills? And what is the thing you do when you are not doing the thing that pays the bills?

pk:  I’m a freelance art director / motion graphic artist. When I’m not designing for clients, I enjoy working on personal art/design projects. Basically, as long as I am creating, I am fulfilled. I also dig soccer, ping pong, music/concerts, dance, karaoke, photography, drawing, board games, films, traveling…

3.) How much of what you do, personally or professionally, gets done at the work space featured?

pk:  It all gets done here, except when I occasionally have to work onsite at a client’s office.

4.) Typically, what time of the day do you normally find yourself at this desk, and for how long? Night owl, early bird? 

pk:  I consider my work week to be 24/7, although of course I’m not working that *entire* time. My schedule is flexible, so I basically work (on either client work or personal projects) when I’m in the mood for it…which more often than not is late at night, but really, inspiration can strike at any time so I just go with the flow.

5.) How much of what gets done at your desk is for work, how much is it to scratch your own creative itch?

pk:  Depends on the week. If I’m double- or triple-booked, most of my time will of course be spent juggling my client work. But if I’m not booked on a project for a particular week, I love utilizing that free time to work on my own personal creative projects.

6.) What are the essentials that can be found on your desk more times than not? How about those items just out of reach or out of sight? If it’s not on top of your desk what are the things you most often grab out of a top draw or cabinet?

pk:  The essentials on my desk: 4 monitors, MacBook, Cintiq, 2 keyboards & 2 mice (one for PC, one for Mac Pro), Muji notepad (for my daily to-do lists), pens galore, 4 speakers (two connected to my PC, two connected to my Mac Pro, two white lamps from CB2, HP printer, and CanoScan 8800F scanner. Items just out of reach or out of sight: my trusty TI-85 calculator (same one I’ve been using since college over 10 years ago — I am old school that way, still refusing to use any calculator applications on my computers or phone), supplies galore (tucked away in various cabinets), MIDI keyboard & Apple Time Capsule (sitting on the Pablo light bench adjacent to my desk), paper cutter, hard drives galore underneath my desk, and books/magazines galore either on top of my A/C unit or in my massive room dividing bookshelves.

7.) What beverage/food/snack can one usually find at your desk, and why?

pk:  Whole wheat challah bread, blueberries, bowls of cereal, an occasional glass of almond milk, and a continually refilled glass of water. As for why, none of that stuff requires any prep time (so I don’t really have to stop working to get something to eat) and well…it all tastes good and is (reasonably) healthy.

8.) Do you have any reasoning or anecdotes that lend some insight into why your desk is setup the way it is, or the thinking behind certain item(s)?  How about the things around your desks? Decoration, wall art, figurines, statues, etc? Any particular reason behind those?

pk:  To my left I have a massive wall of inspiration where I have taped up literally hundreds (maybe thousands?) of images (graffiti, fashion, photographs, art, postcards, stickers, etc.) Even if I’m not looking at the wall directly, I feel that it just oozes creative energy which I absorb just by working in the space. I also have a bunch of cute (mostly Japanese) toys/figurines residing in my general desk area that make me happy any time I glance at them. I’m not a huge fan of chotchkies in general, but I gotta say…I love my assemblage of stuff.

As for the general layout in my apartment, I have Tracy Taylor Ward to thank for that. HGTV came and did an episode of “Freestyle” in my apartment about 5 years ago, where they basically rearranged everything more optimally. They did an excellent job, and although I’ve made several upgrades/enhancements to my apartment since then, the same core layout from the show is still in tact.

9.) How much of what you do, or aspire to do, influences your desk setup, tangibly and intangibly. 

pk:  There is a continual interplay of influence between my workspace and that which I create. My design work is often clean, orderly, minimalist, yet possessing rich complexity and vibrant colors, and this aesthetic sensibility definitely carries over into the maintenance of my workspace. Although there is plenty to look at no matter where you look, I feel as though I’ve achieved a certain serenity in the space, where one would never feel *overwhelmed*. As far as I’m concerned, a workspace has to be neat & tidy in order to be functional. Clutter would ruin me.

10.) Are you a Mac or are you a PC? What machine(s) are setup and used at your desk? If you are a little bit of both tell us why. How about any other tech gear that can be found at your desk or in your home?

pk:  I currently own 3 computers — a 13” MacBook, an 8-core Mac Pro, and a custom-made PC. I’ve hooked my 13” Cintiq monitor up to my Macbook, and I have 2 monitors connected to both my MacPro and my PC, so altogether I’m surrounded by 6 screens. My friends have referred to my workspace as NASA. I love it.

11.) What’s the one piece of gear you could not live without?

pk:  ONE?! I guess I’ll give a generic answer of “COMPUTER”. I honestly use my Mac & PC 50/50, so I can’t even say there’s ONE computer I’d run out the door with. I guess it’s like asking which of your 2 children you love the most. We’re supposed to love them equally, right?

12.) What piece of gear cannot be found on your desk, but you wish it could be?

pk:  Hmm…a light saber?

13.) Software; what do you use more often than not. What helps you get the job done? And what do you not use, but hope one day to incorporate in your workflow?

pk:  Photoshop and After Effects are my bread & butter. But I also use Illustrator and Flash…and someday I hope to start incorporating Cinema 4D. 

14.) If you could change one thing about your desk, or the room it is currently in, what would that be? 

pk:  I wish I had a little more apartment space to work with. (typical New Yorker sentiment).

15.) Workspace Breakdown;

Think of as many things as possible that comprise the setup of your office or workspace, anything from the paint color on the walls to the floor mat your chair rolls on, and list them out. Who makes your desk, how about the cabinet next to your desk, your lamp, the overhead light fixture? Anything and everything you can see in the pictures shown, give as much color and background on these items as time and memory permits. 

pk:  

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If you would like to learn more about pk, his workspace, or his work, you can find him at the sites listed below;

Madebypk.com (pk’s portfolio)

Slackluster.com (pk’s brand new blog)

Introversion.com (pk’s old blog, dating back to 2001)

Wetmilk.com (pk’s experimental art site, launching soon)

Twitter - pk

If you have any questions or comments about this, or any other featured setup, or you would like to have your own setup featured here on SetupsandSpaces.com feel free to email me at FValletutti@me.com.

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