Study Workspace Suggestions - Holly Meadows Baird
September 13, 2010 by Sarah Ward
Filed under Interviews
Recently we interviewed several interior designers on the topic of creating effective workspaces for students on a budget. Over the next few weeks, we will share helpful tips from professionals on creating workspaces for school. Today’s expert is Holly Meadows Baird who joins us from Nashville, Tennessee.
You can also read a transcript of the interview below.
My Colleges and Careers: I’m Sarah Ward with MyCollegesandCareers.com. Today on the Education & Career Channel, we’re going to be talking about how to create Effective Workspaces for Students on a Budget. Today we have the pleasure of having with us Holly Meadows-Baird who is an interior designer from Tennessee. Holly, thank you so much for joining us today.
Holly Meadows-Baird: No problem, my pleasure, thank you.
MCC: Excellent. Before we jump in, tell us a little bit about your background in interior design.
HMB: I’m a commercial interior designer. And I’m registered in the state of TN and I’ve been practicing for seven years now, so quite a bit of experience.
MCC: Wonderful. When we were communicating before our interview, you were saying how during your undergraduate degree, you spent four years in the dorms, and then as a design student in NYC, you needed to create a study in your small apartment — you’re no stranger to working with space constraints!
HMB: That’s correct!
MCC: I’m sure there’s a lot of students who feel that same way. Do you have any suggestions for students who have small spaces? Any great ideas for creating great spaces with a little bit of space?
HMB: I’d say the first challenge is creating a dedicated space. That’s really hard to do sometimes in a dorm or to do in an apartment or house, but creating a dedicated space where you’re not studying in the same bed you’re going to sleep in, it will really help your studying efforts overall.
There are different kinds of learning styles so what will make a space effective for one person will be different for someone else. There are visual learners, for instance. What will be good for them is marker boards or pin-up places where they can constantly be seeing the things they’re trying to study. Highlighters even. They’re constantly highlighting what they’re trying to learn. There are also auditory learners and what will be good for them probably will be a quiet space where they can read their notes out loud or read them into a tape recorder, or play them back into a tape recorder so they can hear what it is they’re trying to learn. The last section, the last group of people are the tactile learners, they’re really hands on people. They need space to pace around, and flash cards, they’re the types that will typically study in an exercise room so they’re on a treadmill and reading their notes so they’re incorporating the movement.
Regardless of your study style, the most important thing is to find a space with limited distractions and interruptions. So a lot of students may opt not to study in their dorm room and study in a library or a coffee shop, and that may be just as effective.
MCC: Excellent, excellent, thank you so much. Now are there certain colors or lighting considerations that students need to be taking into consideration in order to have optimal focus and concentration?
HMB: Color is such a personal preference, but yes, there are different color theories. For instance, light yellow is supposed to improve concentration, that’s why all all legal pads are yellow. But you have to be very careful with yellow because too strong a yellow can be very overpowering. Green is another color that is supposed to be calming and relaxing which is why most theaters spaces have a green room where the actors go before they actually go on stage. So if stress and anxiety are connected with studying, green might be good. Really, it’s about comfort. More important probably than color is lighting. The best lighting for concentration and studying is natural soft light, or daylight. Day lighting has a profound affect on people and can really improve test scores and concentration. If that’s an option, go with daylight. If not, there are bulbs that you can purchase in stores in order to get something that feels like daylight.
MCC: Similar like that while studying at midnight and 2 am!
HMB: Exactly, exactly. Another key piece to the lighting aspect is task lighting. Actually got a task light, You can not only control the amount of light you need to perform the task, because working on the computer requires a very different amount of light than taking notes or reading. So a task light will let you control the amount of light, potentially control the glare, and also will let you place the light where you really need it.
MCC: So are there items that students may want to have at their desk to help them concentrate? Squishy balls, or that type of a thing?
HMB: There’s quite a few tricks. One of them that’s really fascinating in terms of design is having something in the room on the far side of the room, or out a window, so you can focus something out in the distance. This will give your eyes the opportunity to recalibrate and to shift, and that will improve your concentration, You’ll overcome some of mental fatigue. If every thirty minutes you give yourself thirty seconds to focus on something else, that will really improve concentration a lot. Another thing is just hydration, stay hydrated, drink water! Having a coaster on your table, something like that, can definitely help. Sometimes music can help, although I caution with music that some music it can be a distraction as well. So make sure it’s something like classical music where it can fade into the background.
Really the best thing for concentration and focus in a workstation is ergonomics. There are so many factors in ergonomics, far too many to discuss, because it really involves the interaction of people with the space around them. I’d say the three to focus on in a workstation is your monitor placement, your keyboard, and your chair. For example, your monitor, the center of your monitor should be level with your eyes or just a little lower, so you’re not straining your neck. Your keyboard should be just a little lower than your elbows so your wrists and hands fall at the correct position.
MCC: I’m testing to see how I’m doing here.
HMB: Laptops are horrible for this, but many of us have laptops, so if you have the option of getting a docking station and doing a keyboard tray or something, that can be really great and helpful. The chair, there are lots of ergonomic chairs available now and some that are moderately priced. Having the adjustability, making sure your chair really fits you is key. But not only having the adjustability, but actually using it and learning how to use it is really important.
MCC: Perfect. Now, you were talking a little bit earlier about lights for taking notes. Do you have recommendations for students to store all of their papers and books because it can just completely add up and overwhelm them, can’t it?
HMB: Definitely. One thing to think about is your actual workspace has different zones. You’ve got the zone that’s directly in front of you which should contain your computer and your action items, and really that’s about it, maybe your task light is in your area. But then beyond that, you have your swivel area which is the stuff you touch on a day to day but you don’t use all the time and you don’t need it cluttering up your main work surface. The furthermost area of your work surface needs to be your storage. There’s a lot of different organization styles. People are typically one of three things: filers, pilers, or purgers. So if you’re a filer, everything’s gotta be neat and organized and everything has its own home. They’re typically the ones that make file folders for everything, so something like a tickler file is going to be very effective storage for them. Pilers typically get a bad wrap because in terms of being labeled as messy. The way for a piler to seem organized, because the piler may be organized as it is, but the way for them to seem organized -
MCC: They can find it!
HMB: Exactly! — is to contain the pile. Find ways to contain the pile such as letter trays or bins, that’s going be really effective storage for a piler. The purgers are the ones that throw everything away and that can be really bad actually. The lessons for purgers is to identify what you really need to hang onto and find a way to keep it, keep some of it.
MCC: Terrific. Last but not least, how can students put their personal touch on their workspace? Many of the students like we talk about before, they’re living in dorm rooms which are not theirs whatsoever. So how can they infuse their personality Holly?
HMB: Personality is going to shine through on everything you purchased, from your notebooks to your pens, to the way you organize your desk, it’s going to come through. Whether you’re really functional, it’s going to shine through. I’d say the important thing is to make sure you’re comfortable in your space and have your personal touches but make sure they don’t get so overwhelming that they turn into distractions. This is a space for studying so be comfortable but keep the focus about studying.
MCC: Alright, wonderful. Holly you’ve had some great things to share with us. Thank you so much for giving us great tips on giving students great tips on creating effective workspaces on a budget. It’s been a pleasure to have you, thanks for joining us today, Holly.
HMB: Thank you so much.
MCC: Thank you Holly for sharing your expertise, it’s been great to have you with us today.
Stay tuned for more great tips for students on the Education and Career Channel.
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Holly Meadows Baird is a Commercial Interior Designer, and a LEED Accredited Professional in Interior Design and Construction. After graduating from Vanderbilt University and The New York School of Interior Design, Meadows Baird worked in retail, corporate, and healthcare design for 7 years. Currently, she heads the Interior Design division for Powell Design Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, and is the Director of the Nashville City Center for the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).
You can see more of Holly’s work at http://www.powell-design-studio.com/ and become a fan of Powell Design Studio on Facebook.