Katie Langerman

Systems Designer at GitHub and co-organizer of Ladies that UX Boston

Issue #264 March 4, 2023

About

Katie Langerman is a designer and developer. She is currently a Systems Designer at GitHub working on Primer.

She also co-organizes Ladies that UX Boston, a meetup group empowering women who work in design and technology.

She has also released a few episodes of her new UX design podcast, UX At Your Leisure.

My CalDigit dock really changed how I cable manage and wire up my workspace. It's the main power source for most of my desk, allowing me to use just a single cable to plug in my MacBook. Mounting it under the desk keeps it clean and out of the way, but I can still easily access the front to plug in a charger or SD card.

Photos

8 images

Gear

28 items

Lighting Elgato key light air Buy

Speakers Speakers: PreSonis Eric E3.5 Buy

Accessories Elgato stream deck (old version) Buy

Computer MacBook Pro

Webcam Webcam: insta360 Link Buy

Hub / Dock Dock: CalDigit TS3 Buy

Microphone Mic: Shure SM7B Buy

Accessories Mic arm: Elgato low profile Buy

Accessories Folding treadmill: WalkingPad Buy

Chair Chair: Steelcase Leap Buy

Headphones Headphones: Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H4

Desk Mat Grovemade felt desk pad Buy

Desk Desk top: IKEA Pinnarp Buy

Desk Fully Jarvis Standing Desk Buy

Accessories Walnut wall hooks: Becki and Chris Buy

Monitor Monitor: LG UltraWide 34" Buy

Accessories Firefox

Software VS Code

Software Figma

Accessories CleanShot

Software Loom

Accessories Pika

Accessories Tana

Software Obsidian

Software Slack

Software GitHub

Software Readwise

Accessories mymind

Interview

3 questions

› How do you spark creativity?

Going for walks. Quick neighborhood walks, long beach walks– either one works. Sometimes with a podcast or music, other times with just my thoughts.

› How do you manage work-life balance?

I make time during the work week for personal things, like working on side projects or going climbing. Gym time is non-negotiable for me and I block my calendar to get it done. I have little reminders in place to help me wrap up work on time, like changing the color of my office lights daily at 5PM.

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

Aside from being home with my partner and cat all day, making lunch in my own kitchen and enjoying my home office and neighborhood– the main benefit to me is being able to work with people from all around the world. I've been fortunate to work with some incredible designers and developers who all have different life experiences from me. I think expanding outside of my previous small, local tech bubble has made me a better collaborator and communicator.