Jonathan Adler Offers Tips for Looking Good on Zoom — Plus Free Background Images

Video conferencing has made working from home for weeks at a time much easier than it would have been just a few years ago. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with its own set of challenges. Still struggling to feel confident showing your video-ed face and home to your coworkers? Jonathan Adler wants to help.

In a recent post on his website, the designer offers a list of tips for looking and feeling your professional best on Zoom. Plus, he has nine backgrounds you can download, featuring impeccably designed interiors and exteriors, for when your space is cluttered, or your partner/roommate is huddled in the background eating breakfast in non-meeting-ready attire.

Adler’s video conferencing tips come in the form of an acronym. “In difficult times like this,” he writes, “it’s important to remember to LAFFF.” Here’s what that means:

L – Lighting should be soft and come from the front — banish the backlight.

A – Angles are everything in both design and video conferencing. Learn, and commit to, your good side.

F – Fashion. Dress as if you’re going to a power meeting and you’ll be more focused.

F – Festoon! Your colleagues are seeing your house for the first time. Make sure it was worth the wait. (Home having a decidedly off-camera day? Keep reading…)

F – Fight against resting bitch face! Always look “interested and amused,” especially if you’re not.

Find all nine of Jonathan Adler’s downloadable Zoom backgrounds, plus instructions for using them, on his website.