Willa Köerner
Strategist, writer, editor
Who are you, and what do you do?
I'm Willa Köerner, an arts-focused strategist, writer, and editor putting the internet to work for culture. By day I'm Creative Content Director of The Creative Independent, a resource of emotional and practical guidance for artists. By night, I'm co-founder and program director of The Strange, an internet-infused residency program and experimental space in NY's Catskill Mountains.
What hardware do you use?
I have pretty standard hardware needs.. just a computer and its accoutrements, really! I use a 2011 MacBook Pro because the new MacBooks' keyboards are inferior and I fear an upgrade, despite my laptop's lagging spirit. I also use a large external Mac monitor, a mouse, and a very great mousepad that looks like the world's smallest rug.
And what software?
I work and edit things in Google Docs, usually, or Pages - commenting and change-tracking functionality is essential for the work that I do. I also use a lot of video-chatting software since I work remotely, like Zoom, Hangouts, and Skype. I appreciate that my place of employment (Kickstarter, which publishes The Creative Independent) has great in-conference-room cameras and mics so I can teleport into most meetings and everyone else can see an enormous version of my head on the screen, and it's just like I'm really there in person (except, in person, my head is smaller).
Other software/tools I rely on are the WordPress plugin Semplice, which is great for custom-designing websites for someone who isn't a super-great coder, and Are.na, which is a beautifully minimalistic and networked tool for collecting ideas and references. I also use Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and other Adobe products a lot.. and Slack, of course, ugh. Oh, also! Gotta shout out Tumult Hype for HTML5 animations, as it's the most intuitive way to make moving graphics for any site for, again, someone who's not so much a Matrix-esque master of code.
What would be your dream setup?
One day, I want to work out of a temperature-controlled greenhouse at a giant ergonomic table surrounded by plants and lava lamps, with one extremely fast, gleaming computer and large monitor, a great sound system, and the same mousepad that I have currently. Please and thank you.