No. 103 · November 13, 2021

Julius Tarng

Designer based in Seattle, Washington

Julius Tarng runs an independent software practice called Toolshop, where he specializes in prototyping and building highly-interactive, multiplayer, spatial experiences.

He also dabbles in making games, prototyping “weird” tools, and mentoring senior level ICs.

Follow Julius on Twitter and Twitter.

Julius’s gear

15 items.

On the desk15

Lighting Natural light
I am a plant, if I don't get sunlight I can't live~
Accessories Notebooks, Midori MD & Maruman Mnemosyne
I studied Industrial Design, and I am still gerbil-trained to draw cubes and cylinders automatically, on paper.
Accessories Pens, Rays Gel Ink & Pilot Acroball Shop
I bulk order pens imported from Taiwan and Japan (plug: my favorite stationery store in the US — Yoseka Stationery) just to try them out. These two are my current favorites!
Accessories Kendama, Ozora Natural
This is niche knowledge but in 2014 there was a Kendama (Japanese wooden ball-on-a-stick) trend that swept the Facebook design team. You can do some wild stuff with it, although I've peaked at gunslingers and lighthouses. It's a great fidget toy for when you're thinking and a reminder to stand back from your desk.
Keyboard iPad pro, 1st gen, 10.5" with smart keyboard
I love this thing. If I could yeet my computer out the window, I would. With the Github Codespaces launch for Teams this week, I might be able to code full time on it!
On 18% of the desks we’ve published
Keyboard Kinesis Advantage 2 keyboard, custom keycaps
I've had persistent RSI since joining tech, and I have several Advantages because it's so comfortable to use. Plus, I feel like I'm docking into cyberspace whenever I put my hands on them. I cobbled together some cute keys because it's so ugly by default.
Mouse Evoluent Vertical Mouse, left handed
I'm right handed but I got in a bad habit of putting my weight on my right hand, so I switched to a left handed mouse and it's awkward enough to force me to use the keyboard more.
Accessories Tobii Eye Tracker 4 (not shown) Shop
Earlier this year I started coding by voice, learning Talon Voice and using an eye tracker to control the mouse. It magnetically mounts to the bottom of my monitor.
Monitor Arm Uplift desk + monitor arms + hanging cubby Shop
when I swapped my keyboard keycaps, I figured I might as well make the monitor arms cuter, too. Couple thin coats of Krylon, sanded to 3000 grit. I also custom built the keyboard and mouse tray to fit the Kinesis Advantage with minimal overhang.
Chair Hags Capisco Puls Chair
I feel like a space dentist.
Accessories Library books, currently reading The Bridgesgroom by Ha Jin, Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen — Visit your local library and pick up some books!
Accessories Hightide Hourglass
Accessories Himekuri Sticky Calendar
Accessories Muji Compact Alarm Clock
Accessories Chessex 25402 dice

On the screen6 apps

Time Out Visit ›
forces me to take breaks, customized to 10s break every 10m, and 2m break every hour, often in the middle of important screen presentations. At this point everyone I work with has seen it once and appreciates the mandatory stretch break.
Discord
After moving to Dallas, where we don't know many folks, and the pandemic, I depend on Discord for socializing, and have convinced several clients to switch to Discord for work, too. It's just a fun place to be.
Fish Shell Visit ›
I was in search for a friendly shell that didn't require me reading deep stackoverflow posts to customize, and Fish worked great in the default Terminal app.
Codesandbox
I do a lot of prototyping in my work, and CSB has been such a nice way to spin up small experiments. I have my eye on Stackblitz but their Typescript support is still lacking.
Whereby Visit ›
In my quest for friendly software, I found this delightful web-based Zoom alternative.
read.cv Visit ›
LinkedIn is dead, long live read.cv!