Aug.10 2022
Content creators, professional photographer or videographers,
digital nomads, and influencers…many of these need to work on the
go. Whether it's combining your snaps from the day into a summary
montage at the end of an event, creating sports competition
highlights, or publishing brand new travel content from your latest
trip, you need to work anywhere — and fast! Working away from a desk
(and the accompanying desktop PC) is becoming an everyday reality
for many content creators and creatives.
If you find yourself doing quick edits while moving to the next
shooting location, or have a bit of downtime between client visits,
you may be wondering how to make your on-the-go creative work more
efficient and effective. Here are some tips for you.
Get the Right Computer for the Task
Typically, desktops are preferred by professional creators as their
performance tends to be superior to laptops, and setting up a
multi-monitor workstation with dedicated peripherals is often the
optimum way to edit or create designs. However, if the nature of
your job doesn’t allow you to stay at that workstation all day,
you're going to need a laptop.
Some creators select gaming laptops due to their impressive spec
list. While being a great option, their aesthetics might not be to
your taste. At times, you might want to pull out your laptop and
show the client the results on the spot, or simply keep a low
profile as you occupy a corner in a local café or co-working space.
Having a minimalistic, professional-looking machine is the preferred
way to go for many.
The great news is, modern laptops tailored for content creators
allow you to recreate a lot of desktop-like workflows in a mobile
setting, all in an elegant, professional device, and packing serious
power ─ even on a par with their desktop counterparts! With the help
of these machines, you can get top-notch creative work done wherever
you are: be it on a train, a plane, or in a café!
Ensure Your Battery Lasts
The last thing you want is to miss a deadline because you ran out of
battery, or not be able to show your client the results of your work
as you show up for the meeting.
Solid battery life should be a big consideration when buying a
laptop for on-the-go content creators and creatives. Make sure to
take this parameter into account when choosing your next computer!
Some software will cause the laptop’s juice to run out faster than
others ─ especially creative apps like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator,
or After Effects.
The same holds true for phones as well. Fast WiFi everywhere is
still not a given, unfortunately. Many times, you'll catch yourself
sharing the internet from your phone so you can download some files
from the cloud, check clients’ branding guidelines, or simply look
for inspiration online. Opening a mobile hotspot drains the phone's
battery quite quickly.
So, if you see a free electrical outlet, plug in! Simple as that.
And it's best if you can charge both your laptop and phone whenever
you get a chance.
Also, equipping yourself with a powerful power bank that can charge
both a laptop and a phone (like the
Zenpower Pro (PD)
) could be a good idea for long working hours in places without
outlets. Working outdoors, perhaps?
Prepare to Work Offline
The reality is, you'll find yourself in places where no Wi-Fi is
available, and your phone will have no signal. Whether it's while
flying (if you’re like me and you’d rather not pay for the on-plane
Wi-Fi) or while on a shoot in a remote location like a mountain top
or an abandoned factory, you may be forced to live the internet-free
life for a bit.
It's important to prepare to work offline. Before leaving your home,
office, or studio, make sure to download all the files you might
need later. If you’re a busy on-the-go creative, you may end up
running out of storage at a surprising pace. Storage should be
another consideration when choosing the next computer. Opt for SSDs
over HDDs if you can ─ your files will load faster, saving your time
(and nerves).
Create a checklist of what you absolutely need to get your work
done, and make sure you have it all on your hard drive. The list may
include client logo files and brand guidelines, photos you’re
storing in the cloud, product sales kits, report templates, and
more. List everything you might need and double-check whether it’s
all available offline.
Enable Desktop-Like Creative Workflows While On the Go
If you’re currently working on a desktop PC, your setup likely looks
more or less like this: PC tower, high-quality monitor (or a couple
of them), a keyboard and a mouse, maybe a Wacom graphics tablet, an
editing console or a special creative keyboard with a number of
hotkeys and a dial, an SD and microSD card reader, an external SSD
hard drive, a webcam, and a pair of headphones with a mic for online
meetings. Plus a whole tangle of cables, too. You might even have a
Pantone swatch lying around somewhere as well!
ASUS creator-dedicated laptops pack the whole creative toolbox in a
portable form factor. Designed and optimized specifically for unique
creator needs, these powerful machines enable fast render times and
smooth operation of even the most demanding software.
Many ASUS creator laptops come with dedicated creative tools.
ProArt Studiobook
and new
Vivobook Pro
come with an ASUS Dial (either physical in the former, or the
virtual ASUS DialPad in the latter's touchpad). Compatible with
Adobe creative apps and many Microsoft apps, Dial gives you full
control of parameters and workflows, all conveniently and
accurately. The tool allows you to quickly move through timelines
while editing videos, control zoom, volume, brightness, switch
between layers, and change brush size…these are just a few of the
functions of Dial. See the video below to learn more!
Discover What You Can Do with ASUS Dial
The unique
Zenbook Pro Duo
comes with not one, but two screens! The unique design of ScreenPad
Plus not only extends your viewing space and allows multitasking,
but also gives you even more control over your creative apps.
Control Panel in the Zenbook Pro Duo packs preset layouts for After
Effects, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Lightroom Classic. It can also
be customized to fit perfectly into your needs.
ScreenPad Plus is an accurate touchscreen. With the ASUS pen, you
can go ahead and start creating digital art by hand, just like you
would on a graphics tablet.
All ASUS creator laptops come with a color-accurate OLED screen that
not only provides an amazing viewing experience, with full DPI-P3
color gamut coverage, deep blacks, high contrast and up to a 120 Hz
refresh rate. It also helps save your eyes from damaging blue light!
The wide viewing angles let you show your work to multiple clients
or colleagues at the same time, right on the screen. And with the
Pantone Validated certification, you don’t need to worry about the
color accuracy either! And if you need to customize the color gamut
to suit different needs of your projects, ASUS Splendid technology
makes it possible – easily!
Attending online meetings using these laptops is also bliss. A 1080p
FHD camera and a built-in array microphone with AI noise cancelation
means everyone can see and hear you very clearly, even if you’re
working from a not-so-quiet space. Most models come with Harman
Kardon-certified audio systems that produce surprisingly
high-quality sound for a laptop speaker.
If you wish to plug in your headphones or connect other peripherals,
that’s also possible ─ there are plenty of I/O ports for you to
choose from. You can easily connect your headset via the audio combo
jack, download files directly from your SD or microSD card via
built-in slot, connect an external monitor via HDMI or Thunderbolt
4, or download the files from a traditional USB Type-A portable
drive. The creator laptops come with virtually every port or
connection you might need.
And if you need to multitask on the go, or set up another screen to
see the reference as you’re working, you can use your mobile device
as a screen extension of your computer. Whether you have a tablet or
smartphone, you can just download the
GlideX app, and connect your device to your ASUS laptop, then via the app
interface select Extend. Your device will become an external
monitor. Try it!
Choose the Right Backpack
Depending on what your profession is, you might need different
backpacks. But whatever you need to carry, your next bag should have
a couple of characteristics.
A dedicated, secure laptop partition is a must. Plenty of pockets,
including a tablet sleeve will also help better organize all you
need to bring with you. And since you’re an “on-the-go” creator,
getting something weatherproof is also a good idea! You may also
want to go for the professional look.
If you’re a graphic designer or editor, and your only working tool
is your computer and its peripherals, a good laptop backpack will
do. Something like
the ASUS Triton backpack
combines style, storage space, functionality, and weather-proofing
to make sure you’re good to go at all times.
If you’re working with a DSLR camera, you have two choices: either
get a dedicated photographer's backpack (and make sure it also has a
well-protected laptop sleeve) or a regular one that can fit your
camera case of choice. The dedicated camera backpack would be more
optimal, however, because they’re built with shock protection in
mind, so your camera is safe, and there is space for additional
lenses, tripod, flashes, and so on.
Adventurous content creators like travel bloggers will need
something sturdy and waterproof. Many such creators just go with an
adventure camera, so dedicated space isn’t as much of a concern as
with a DSLR.
Good to Go!
Whether you're a photographer, a videographer, an audio content
creator, a travel influencer, or a 'digital nomad' graphic designer,
setting up a mobile workstation just with what you can fit into your
backpack is now possible.
In my opinion, buying a dedicated creator laptop will be a
pound-for-pound No. 1 game-changer for you when trying to become
more efficient while mobile. If you follow the tips in this article,
you should feel okay about leaving your desktop PC behind and taking
on some cases which you thought to be impossible, without driving a
van containing your full desktop setup to the shooting site!
Check out the ASUS creator laptop lineup!