How a Working Illustrator Created Illani To Solve A Problem

In July 2022, Founder and Director of Patch Creative and working illustrator, Jimmy Patch, brought a long held vision to life. illani was born.

Illani was created and developed after spending nearly 15 years trying to find a practical, good-quality workspace solution. Like all good discoveries, it was born out of frustration that someone hadn’t already done it, and it became apparent that it would be simpler to just learn how to design, build, and manufacture a workstation than keep looking for something would provide all the benefits he was looking for.  

We are all guilty of it. Working from cramped positions, wrists locked up, eyes squinting, necks straining, usually for hours at a time. We don’t notice because we are too busy creating something that wasn’t there before. Creatives are problem-solvers, and sometimes the problem to be solved is how to keep working through discomfort, and the most common solution? Ignore it until it becomes a significant problem! Working in the arts is a strange beast – you are either under-employed, or over-employed. It’s during those fever-dream periods of over-employment you realise it is no longer sustainable to keep working from a makeshift office in your closet/crawl space. 

FINDING THE RIGHT ANGLE 

The first issue many heavy tablet-users – designers, illustrators, animators, and digital artists – experience, is finding the right angle for your screen. No easy feat when your screen is a flat tablet. Tablets aren’t like laptops, there is no tilted screen you can adjust throughout the day to keep your back and neck from suffering strain. 

Tablet stands currently available on the market aren’t known for their ease of adjustment – for stands to be readily adjustable, designs need to prioritise this element of the user experience over more economical design choices, and materials need to be durable enough to withstand regular readjustments. All this usually results in a hefty price tag, pricing the product out of most budgets, making it unviable from a marketing and production perspective. 

It is for these reasons that most of the stands available curtail this feature, compromising usability with a limited number of pre-set angles. From a user perspective, it usually means that one pre-set angle is too low, one too high, one will kinda do the job - so your ‘adjustable stand’ is actually… just a stand.

PLASTIC, PLASTIC, PLASTIC

Another concession is often regarding materials. Plastic is everywhere – it’s cheap, durable enough, and lightweight. This is all great, if you ignore the fact that once broken, it’s usually irreparable and that it takes eons to decompose, but that’s okay, it’s not like micro-plastics have turned up In every corner of the planet, including inside the fish we eat. 

The Illani creator used durable pine and a simple bolt mechanism to ensure the stand is truly fully adjusted, and doesn’t overly deteriorate through use. It’s a long-term investment, designed to serve your workspace needs for as long as you need them.  

Working with wood isn’t just a practical choice – wood holds warmth, it’s visually pleasing, and the grain of each board as unique as it’s user. Wood is durable, tactile, and environmentally friendly. 

STABILITY

Unlike laptops and computers, creatives using tablets are constantly making connection to the screen itself, like a writer using a pen on paper. This means your work surface bears the weight of your forearms and wrists, while your neck is angled at the screen. Most tablet stands on the market are designed for those people using a tablet with a separate keyboard, or who use a tablet for reading. 

Digital creatives need a workstation that can support their body weight while maintaining their preferred angle, so they can commit to the work on screen. Illani STUDIO and MOVE are weighted for this exact purpose - durable enough support your wrists and forearms, with a mechanism strong and secure enough to hold your preferred angle, so you can focus on your work. 

MULTIPLE SCREENS

Most available tablet stands are exactly that – they hold one tablet. As many artists are wont to do, you may need to use reference images or client briefs to develop your work, and a tablet stand that holds just one screen can be limiting and annoying, not to mention the work your neck must do to accommodate two screens at different levels. Many current tablet stands do not really accommodate working digital creatives, and there is a lack of understanding as to how digital creatives use their equipment. 

Illani was created to hold multiple screens – STUDIO can hold two tablets and a smart phone, and MOVE can hold a tablet and smart phone. 

$$$$

Man, things are expensive. Have you seen the price of things lately? All the things! From rent to rice, prices are going up. As creatives, finding fiscal balance is a thing of beauty, and you don’t get it by spending it on unnecessary things, like private health insurance or food. It seems especially frivolous to spend money on a work space – money that won’t directly result in a tangible fiscal outcome, and let’s be honest, we can get by with our heads bent over our desk like Shakespeare madly scribbling over a piece of parchment with a quill. But creating an efficient work space isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity, and the longer we spend with our heads bent over our desk, the more pressure we are putting on the most valuable and finite resources we have – our body, and our wellbeing. 

This is why illani’s creator developed a workstation that would make a significant impact on a creative’s ability to create, and not their wallet. illani products have entered into the market at an accessible price point, and have been made to stand the test of time and use – they are a reliable piece of equipment you can use for significant periods of time, not to be updated every nine months. No planned obsolescence here.  

MADE WITH YOU IN MIND

illani is a purpose-built product that was initially designed not for the wider market, but for a working illustrator who needed a practical solution. In line with many successful inventors, illani sprung from a genuine need for an effective product that accommodates the needs of digital creatives.  

FIND YOUR WORKSTATION SOLUTION

Peruse the illani STUDIO and MOVE workstations here and elevate your studio workspace to benefit your creative practice.