051: James Ellis' things worth noticing

Secrets to computer success, image-making, and inducing flow state through extreme music looping.

Aug 24, 2026

Welcome to Things Worth Noticing—a series to spotlight other creative minds and their irl/url finds.

Today on the newsletter we have James Ellis.

James Ellis is a design and technology person that runs a creative agency and media company called Public Announcement. On weekdays, PA publishes a newsletter for people addicted to links.

I have been following James for over a decade and his newsletter was a huge inspiration for this one (As was my brother’s newsletter, One Man Cult, Perfectly Imperfect, and Haley Nahman’s 15 things). I am so excited to have him on today.

🎁 Staring at the Ceiling readers can join free using the code 1yrOfLinksForSATCReaders. (How to redeem: Visit the Join page. Choose the $99/yr option. On the next page, click Add Coupon to enter the code.) Hurry, code will eventually expire.

James Ellis’ things worth noticing:

🎸 Workstation Telecaster

I recommend having a Fender Telecaster beside you at the machine. Pick up the tele when you start a render, deploy to production, or otherwise post what you’re working on.

You can choose something besides a Telecaster. An 80s Hamer 12-string would be cool. A Gretsch would demonstrate your sophistication. Or perhaps choose something wacky. Position the guitar so that it’s in view on videocalls. People will comment.

📸 A real camera, like the Sony a6000 with a 50mm prime

If you have an interest in producing images more compelling than what you can capture with a smartphone, consider procuring a used Sony a6000 camera body and a 50mm prime lens.

I like the Sony cameras but there are many suitable alternatives. A 50mm prime lens captures a nice flat, realistic aesthetic.

You may be thinking that you need a “full frame” camera. I don’t think so. Save your money. Rent fancy cameras when client work demands.

The a6000 was new in 2014, and it was the first of the 6000-series Sonys, so you can find deals. Avoid spending over $1k for the body and lens. You can spend half that if you’re a patient eBay shutterbug.

🧩 Tripod image composites

When capturing an image involving multiple humans, it’s hard to get everyone looking good in the same instant. But if your camera is on a tripod, and you’ve got your settings locked, you can capture loads of snaps and composite the best. You’ll end up with at least one strong look from each subject. Comping in Photoshop or Affinity should be straightforward with all the images shot from the same tripod position.

This technique works great if you’re shooting an image for an About page, for example. Or a cool band photo. The best thing you can do with this technique is create a completely bonkers family portrait, where everyone moves around and does funny poses.

Send the final image off to Framebridge. The framed prints will be a hit at Christmas, delighting fam & friends for years.

💻 Monitor arm for your body

Laptops ruin your body. Nobody should be hunching all day. You can do it in your teens and twenties, but around 30 your body will begin failing. Neck problems. Back pain. Headaches. Tingling. Numbness. Your hands will stop working.

[Editor’s note: I have been going to PT for my headaches/TMJ and it’s all because I have bad posture and tech neck!! Protect your neck!!!]

Did you know that your head weighs 10 pounds? That’s the heft of a bowling ball! Imagine holding a bowling ball, tilting it forward 10 degrees and maintaining that tension all day. That’s what you’re doing on a laptop.

So many of us generate money working at the machine. Don’t let bad form interfere with your ability to operate and earn! You know what costs more than a monitor and VESA mount? An orthopedist and chiropractor. To be clear: you want a monitor arm, not a stand. That way you can adjust height and bring the display close to your face. Do not lean forward. Do not squint.

This arm is good. The Ergotron is better but costly. When traveling, put your laptop on this stand.

🖨️ On-demand printing

PA have been releasing new merch in our shop. We’ve enjoyed experimenting with on-demand printing, connecting Printify and Printful vendors to our Shopify store. The options are vast.

Consider making your own merch, even if it’s just for personal goofs & gifts. Anyone can use these print platforms – you don’t have to run a Shopify site. Snap a pic of your cat, print on a mug and bestow at Christmas.

[Editor’s note: I recently made hats that say “EMILY WILSON” for my husband’s book club while they were reading The Odyssey]

🎁 If any of the PA gear grabs you, Staring at the Ceiling readers can enjoy 20% off. Use code 20OffForSATCReaders.

🔊 Mac Mini audio rig

Many of us rely on videocalls to conduct our important business. We speak into some kind of microphone and would like to sound amazing on the other side.

An Airpod slathered in noise-reduction gets the job done, but the sonics do not dazzle. Also disappointing: raw audio coming off a microphone. A mic signal demands processing: gating, eq and compression. In years past I relied on a traditional analog signal chain for this sort of processing, but a real channel strip is costly! Fortunately, modern computers can perform elaborate audio processing at very low latency.

Here is how I achieve sparkling sonic clarity:

I use a base model M2 Mac Mini as a dedicated audio rig running a Logic Pro session. I plug a microphone into a Scarlett 2i2 audio interface connected to the Mini. Logic Pro processes the mic signal at very near real-time (because I’m running the interface at 96khz with a 32 sample buffer), applying gating, eq and compression. This signal is output from the Scarlett attached to the Mini, feeding into a second Scarlett connected to my main computer. This setup works great. Logic will run uninterrupted for months.

The ai wave has inflated prices recently, but deals on used Mac Minis are still out there. You can find the 3rd Gen Scarlett 2i2 for less than a hundred bucks. A classic SM57 with a windscreen will sound great; you don’t need the fancy SM7B (though it is nice and retains its resale value).

María Vargas Aguilar: You didn't go to design school — where did your actual design and web education happen? Was there a job or a person who taught you the most?

James Ellis: My path was unusual. I got my first design job the summer after 7th grade. A cool 90s graphic design firm, Quantum Grafix, was located in my town outside of Atlanta. I convinced them to put me on at minimum wage ($4.25/hour) after showing them Photoshop stuff I had taught myself. (Earlier that year a friend’s mom let me borrow her Photoshop 4.0 CD-ROM and install it on my family’s 486. I bought a Photoshop book and learned it. I was fascinated by the designers using Photoshop to create the wild 90s record packages I was obsessed with.)

Quantum Grafix were charmed by my nascent Photoshop chops and put me to work retouching. They were also intrigued because I had been teaching myself HTML and Macromedia Flash. It was 1996 and the firm was doing loads of work for the Atlanta Olympics, including the website for the Georgia International Horse Park. The web was new and still being invented, so we were all learning. I lived out in the woods; I had time to study. And because I liked feeling important working alongside talented adult designers that I admired, I learned everything I could about the web. I became valuable.

I was contributing to real projects and absorbing how a small design studio operated. I was fascinated seeing how we drafted proposals. I enjoyed helping proofread and edit. We would agonize over the details of the SOW before transmitting via fax. Later the fax machine would buzz with the client response. When we won a project, everyone would cheer. It was a very cool job.

I worked that job every summer, sometimes helping out during the schoolyear. I was also doing my own freelance projects. I had thousands saved.

What I was not doing was high school. I didn’t enjoy attending, as I had my own interests and areas of study. I was already confident in my ability to generate money. So I moved out and started working full time as a designer. A year later, I moved to nyc and got a job at a cool early 2000s design firm. I was good at building Flash sites. They didn’t care I was a teenage dropout. There I worked on projects for HBO, Elektra Records, AMC, Comedy Central, Crunch Fitness. I learned how business was conducted on that level and after 2 years, I broke out, started my own agency. I was 21.

MVA: You have a wide range of work: brand work, writing, web design, etc. It feels less like you’re a generalist and more like one point of view showing up in different mediums. If you had to name one thing that’s consistent across your work, what would it be?

JE: What is oddly consistent is Photoshop. I have been using that prog for 30+ years!

Our agency does a lot of campaign image post-production. There is something lovely about the simplicity of these engagements. I enjoy transforming raw image data into finished work, ready for global distribution.

Over the years we’ve developed an elaborate image pipeline involving JSX scripting of Photoshop, allowing us to move through large campaign deliveries. Scripts automate the outputs, from archival TIFFs in the original colorspace to final sRGB JPGs. We also have scripts that generate image-viewers, helping clients toggle before/afters. Here’s an example of what I mean. Use your keyboard ↑ and ↓ arrows to navigate; press the B key to toggle.

MVA: What are some things that are currently inspiring you?

JE: I enjoy helping creative firms grow. I like being a mentor. I find this inspiring. It feels good.

In recent years I’ve been working as a consultant for a range of creative firms. Most often I help them with their new-business documents: Statement of Work, Master Services Agreement, Capabilities Deck and so on.

What I’ve realized is that many creatives spend their careers abstracted away from the business of design. They’re at the tip of the pencil, cranking out the designs, coding the website, editing the video, etc. They’re not involved in the proposal phase. So when they break out and form their own agency, the new-business flow feels unfamiliar. I’ve enjoyed helping folks level up and boost new-biz confidence.

MVA: What is something you don’t know that you’d like to learn how to do?

JE: These days I just want to improve on guitar. I was decent as a teenager and played guitar in bands, but after switching to drums no one needed a guitar player again and my skills atrophied.

I love drums but they’re not a casual instrument. Drums are physically large and the SPLs are extreme. You need a dedicated jam house. Guitar isn’t like that. You can play anytime. I’ve been at it a while now. I’m kinda starting to rip.

MVA: Go to font?

JE: I have a family of gotos! Hiragino Sans, Founders Grotesk, Inter, Items, Times New Roman.

MVA: Favorite part of your desk set up?

JE: I enjoy multiple setups. One machine is dedicated to client work. Another is for just for me—newsreading, the PA newsletter/website, wacky personal projects. And I have a laptop for when I’m out the stude.

Otherwise, the fav part of my desk setup is the desk itself. I enjoy woodworking and have built many desks over the years. Now the studio features a simple desk design: two sheets of 3/4” baltic birch glued together, with numerous coats of white-wash stain so that it’s almost totally white, finished with many many coats of high quality clear poly (don’t buy the cheap stuff), sanded perfectly smooth. I love the feel and look. I’ve experimented with various desk frames/legs over the years; I had a sit-stand phase that I’ve abandoned in favor of Ikea Krille legs. Anyone can build a studio full of these desks for peanuts compared to a fancy rig. My $120 desk is cooler. Visit your local wood store and have them cut birch ply to whatever dimensions you like. You can do the rest at home. If you live in nyc, don’t be afraid to perform the stain, poly and sanding on the street. Bonus: On the desk bottom, attach tie-down strap pads, then use bungies & cord ties to strap your power supply, audio interface, and assorted peripherals to the underside, keeping your desk surface clear.

MVA: A website you check every day that isn’t news?

JE: I am a lifelong text-based news addict. I’ve got it bad. That’s what I’m reading everyday.

MVA: Little treat of choice?

JE: Basketball podcasts.

MVA: Song/album/singer you’re into right now?

JE: I have a penchant for rinsing records. I listen on repeat. To records, and individual tracks. I reckon I’ve invested at least 90 hours of my life in Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer for example.

I used to be embarrassed for people to discover my iTunes playcounts. I didn’t want to reveal my secret compulsions. Now I’m comfortable sharing my music habits and encourage others to experiment with extreme looping. It’s an effective way to dazzle your mind into flow 😵‍💫 state.

Here is a sampling of tracks I have been looping as of late:

• New Order - Regret into New Order - World, the first two tracks from 1993’s Republic.

• Robert Palmer - I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On

• Kurt Vile - Red Room Dub

• Fletcher C Johnson - Let Your Soul Glow

• Naked Eyes - I Could Show You Show

• Ella Langley - weren’t for the wind

• Smithereens - A Girl Like You

• David Bowie - Teenage Wildlife

• The Sound - Skeletons

• Alison’s Halo - Wishes

• Doug Tuttle - Twilight