Gaurang Alat

Growth Product Designer working at Thumbtack

Issue #189 September 4, 2022

About

Gaurang Alat is a Growth Product Designer working at Thumbtack. Working at a remote-first organization means he can have complete freedom in designing his workspace. Outside of work, he enjoys photographing concerts, DJing and playing tennis.

Photos

7 images

Gear

9 items

Chair Herman Miller Sayl

Desk Autonomous Standing Desk

Keyboard Keychron K7 65% wireless keyboard

Mouse Logitech MX Master 3

Computer M1 Macbook Air (personal laptop)

Computer 16in Macbook Pro (work laptop)

Webcam Logitech Streamcam (webcam)

Monitor Pioneer DM-40 Monitors (speakers)

Lighting Belkin wireless charger Mi LED Desk Lamp (from Xiaomi)

Software

6 apps

Figma

Slack for work comms

Soundcloud/Spotify for music

Notion for personal notes

Google Chrome

‍UpNext for MacOS (to show upcoming meetings for the day)

Interview

3 questions

› What software is important for your daily work as a product designer?

The M1 Macbook Air is hands down my favorite item. Don't let the lightweight and sleek appearance fool you, it's a powerful machine that has a fantastic battery life. A second favorite item would be the Pioneer DDJ-400 controller that I use to practice my mixing skills and DJ from time to time.

› How do you spark creativity?‍

Some of you may relate, but long showers really spark my creativity. A close second option is looking at physical print media such as posters, brochures and book covers.

› ‍How do you manage work-life balance?‍

I firmly believe in setting boundaries when it comes to work and life, and making sure my work does not become my personal identity (being known as a designer at XYZ). I don't have my work email account logged into my phone and I rarely check Slack on my phone. Luckily, I enjoy a great work-life balance at my organization and I could not be more happy working here.