Andy Carolan's profile

WFH Illustrations


WFH Illustrations
2D Illustration

Working from home is great. We have our environment set up just how we like it, there’s usually nobody else around to complain and many of us have the option of escaping into another place to work. Perhaps a shared space or a cafe (just don’t drink too much coffee!).

I am a huge fan of Dick Bruna and his Miffy books. I love his design style and use of bright, cheerful colours and bold lines. These illustrations of my work space and the things I surround myself with is my homage to Dick Bruna.

Nintendo 3DS — I love rhythm games and there’s some great ones on the 3DS, including Rhythm Tengoku. I also have the original Japanese version on the Gameboy Advance. This is the Ambassador edition 3DS with the old Nintendo kanji logo on the shell.

Taiko no Tatsujin — Talking about Rhythm Games, on the bottom shelf is Taiko no Tatsujin for the Nintendo Switch. Incredibly fun but insanely loud to play!

Lots of Books — I prefer non fiction and design books (and have bought more than I am ever likely to completely read). My latest acquisitions (as of writing this) are “Immune” - Philipp Dettmer (the creator of Kurzgesagt), and “The Illustrators - Dick Bruna” - Bruce Ingman, Ramona Reihill. I usually have a book on my desk that I read during coffee breaks.

Nintendo Switch — Animal Crossing launched at the start of the lockdown and has been a welcome escape throughout, I’ve spent more hours on this game than I care to remember. I’ve also completed all cups on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and worked my way through most of the dungeons on Zelda Link’s Awakening. The Switch has also been an amazing platform to find indie titles on.

Yoshi Shrine — Aside from a few games featuring this adorable little dinosaur I have t-shirts, plushies, amiibo, keychains and mugs.

Cruiser Skateboard — I was lucky to find an Arbor Cruiser Skateboard featuring artwork by one of my most liked designers, Aaron Draplin. I’ve really not used this board enough yet, but it does have a few scratches.

Fitness — Lockdown wasn’t kind to my figure as it was during this time that Krispy Kreme started offering vegan donuts and delivering trays of a dozen at a time (discounts for two trays didn’t help). Deciding I needed to lose weight, I bought an Apple Watch, a yoga mat and subscriptions to Apple Fitness+ and My Fitness Pal. I won’t bore you with details and metrics, but I achieved my goal!

Hot Hot Hot — My office faces south which means during the summer months it gets almost unbearably hot. This year, I bought what turned out to be a really aggressive, totally over powered, almost industrial fan. It’s great on the hottest days though but far too loud to use while on video calls.

Coffee — I love to drink coffee when I’m out, so have a few reusable cups and mugs that I use. The one I use most is my glass KeepCup as it’s the ideal size for a Flat White, I also use it at home as it keeps the drink warm enough if I don’t get to it straight away.

Octopus — For video and voice calls, I have a RØDE NT USB microphone on a stand that I was always tripping over. So, I placed a small plush octopus over one of the legs, and I’ve not tripped over it since.

White Sneakers — They looked great out of the box but are almost impossible to keep clean. Not practical in summer and even less so in autumn.

Work — I won’t go over the equipment I use, but needless to say that I am deep in the Apple ecosystem and am unlikely (and unwilling) to escape.

Cactus Ranch — Several cacti and succulents have joined the team over the past year. I bought a book so that I could identify and better care for these plants. The one with the smily face on the pot is made of plastic, but all the others are real… honest.

Music — I’m always listening to Apple Music and find that I’m at my most productive when I put headphones on and focus on work and nothing else.

WFH Illustrations
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WFH Illustrations

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