244 - Wouter de Bres

Wouter de Bres is a father of "the most beautiful twin daughters in the world" and a product designer and former psychologist from Voorschoten the Netherlands.

He also co-founded Gibbon and previously lead the design team at Degreed.

He is currently freelancing and helping startups design simpler user experiences.

Would you be interested in a book about product design psychology? He's also validating that idea. Let him know what you think!

Twitter → twitter.com/WdeB
Instagram → instagram.com/wouterdebres

Can you tell us a little bit about your new workspace?

We just finished rebuilding our attic. We added dormers and isolated the roof. Now I finally was able to create the perfect home office space. I finally have a window I can look out to, enjoy the day light and the view. For me it's important to be able to switch between working at my desk, sitting or standing and reading & relaxing in my arm chair with my iPad.

What is your favorite item in your workspace?

Three things are my favorite; 1. my new walnut wood standing desk from Standidesk that fits exactly between the dormer/window space, 2. my Ikea Strandmon armchair with sheep skin and my miniture BMW RnineT motorcyle.

How do you spark creativity?

For me it works to go outside, riding my motorcycle or my vintage road racing bike and then sitting down with a cup of coffee in my arm chair with my iPad. But to be honest my daughters also spark a lot of creativity, they ask the best out-of-the-box questions!

How do you manage work-life balance?

You are replaceable to your company, but not to your loved ones. My wife and daughters are my everything and I will always prioritize them above work. I always bring our daughters to school, have lunch with them in the afternoon and never skip a family dinner and bedtime stories. I make time to go to the gym, ride my motorcycle and bicycle and optimize for enjoying life—not for money. I am convinced if you deliberately take time for taking care of your family and yourself you will be a happier person, and happy people are more productive and creative in their work.

What do you think is the main benefit of remote work?

For me it's the focus time it gives you. But I do prefer a hybrid model. When I was leading the design team at Degreed we also had a beautiful office in Leiden, where we worked 2 days in the week. For me that was the perfect balance of focus and social/collaboration time.