480 - Niclas Ernst

Niclas Ernst is a Designer with 10+ years of experience helping brands and early-stage startups from all over the world. He is the founder of Permanent, a design culture studio that helps startups build design-sensible companies.

He was previously the Head of Design at Pipe and the Founder of Polygon, another design studio that was acquired in 2022.

Twitter (X) → x.com/niclasernst
LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/niclas-ernst-562024105

Niclas' Workspace Tour

Workspace Items

• Pro Display XDR
• MacBook 16" M4
• MacBook 14" M4 with nano-texture glass (for travel)
• Mac Pro that I don't use anymore
  
• iPad Pro M4
• Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse that came with the Mac Pro
• Magic Trackpad
• "Folder" organiser from Blanked
• Books
• Porsche GT3 Touring model
• USM desk
• EA 117 chair
• USM sideboard

What is the most recent item that you've added to your workspace?

I got the "Folder" organiser as a present from my girlfriend. We have a lot of paperwork coming in that needs sorting between personal and company, and I used to just make piles on the desk.

What is one change you'd like to make to your current workspace?

None that I can think of. I'm quite happy with the entire setup.

How do you spark creativity?

I've come to learn that it finds me when I take care of my environmental factors. I reduce distractions, take care of my routines, and brutally manage my calendar, both social and work, to keep room for when it hits. All you can do in my experience is take care of these environmental factors and create room for work to happen, and then do the work. I've also become a lot more forgiving with myself when I start a day and go "Oh, it's going to be really hard to be productive on this thing that requires a lot of creativity" and then just plan my day differently, i.e. including more room for social time or working through administrative tasks instead.

What does your typical day look like?

I wake up, walk our dog Leo, and then hit the gym with my co-founder. It's a great time to speak through a few things that are on my mind already, without it feeling like work. Normally, I work through administrative tasks before I have lunch, go for another walk with Leo, and then dig into the work that's on my plate. I tend to have 2-3 weekly priorities that I try to keep detached from specific weekdays, and so here things go depending on what needs to actually happen. Sometimes it's a block of back to back meetings for 3 hours, and sometimes it's nothing but design work. I like lounging on the couch or in my Eames chair with my MacBook when I design, and use my office for more isolated work like meetings or things with a clear scope. I try to keep room in the evenings for social events if my schedule allows it, which it doesn't always because of our overlap with the US.

What do you enjoy most about WFH life?

Feels a lot more like getting shit done on my terms – I designed my apartment and other circumstances around how I work best, and I've done so since before COVID. So it's pretty optimised at this point. No office could ever beat that.