The only thing lacking from Eric Karjaluoto's recent essay on the pros and cons of a clean desk were pictures. What did the creative director's desk really look like? Was it as tidy as he suggested in his essay? The answer is a resounding "yes" (see below).

"To be honest, my argument isn't really about how clean one's desk is. (At smashLAB we try to keep our spaces tidy, but don't have a policy around it--for what it's worth.) My challenge is more with the notion that there's a single "right" way for creatives to work."

In the piece Karjaluoto reacts to a colleague's criticism of design firms that have "clean desk" policies. How tied are we to the myth of creatives being messy? Is it true that from the chaos genius is born? What do you think?

Originally published at Lifework by Cerentha Harris