Laptops have long overtaken desktops as the most numerous kind of personal computer in the market, yet it is far from being the most comfortable to use. These notebook computers were never designed for ergonomics, and their form has persisted for decades just because there is really no better solution yet. What people have done, instead, was to work around the laptop’s inherent ergonomic limitations, mostly by either using laptop stands that raise the screen to a more comfortable level or connecting an external monitor and better keyboards for desktop use. Laptop stands do one thing and one thing only, and while their simplicity has merits, they can do nothing more to optimize your workflow and productivity. Sensing an opportunity, FluidStance created a stand that elevates not only your laptop but also your productivity by offering a small yet significant analog feature.
Designer: FluidStance
One of the most-cited reasons (or excuses) for an unproductive time at work or study is the unavoidable interruptions that come our way. The common advice is to immediately note down those ideas, tasks, requests, or whatever you have the moment they arrive and then switch back to the current task at hand. That strategy sounds trivial, but only if you actually have something at hand to note those things down immediately, which isn’t always the case. FluidStance is trying to solve that problem by giving you a writing space that’s always available since it will be where your laptop will always be.
The Lift is a bit of an outlier among other laptop stands. It stands quite tall, actually 9 inches at its highest point in the back. This was specifically designed to put the laptop at eye level, reducing the strain on your neck when working at a desk. On the front, the laptop is raised to a height of 6.25 inches, which means you’ll need to use a separate keyboard anyway. Instead of wasting space, however, FluidStance has creatively put a dry-erase board in that space, becoming an area where you can immediately jot down notes without breaking your workflow or fumbling around for pen and paper.
It’s a rather ingenious design that takes advantage of what would normally be an unused area underneath a laptop stand. There’s still a lot of space behind the whiteboard if you want to hide some things from sight. The stand does have cutouts on the hind legs for cable management, so you might prefer to use that space for computer-related accessories instead.
One side effect of having a built-in whiteboard is that the height of the stand is fixed. In fact, there aren’t any additional parts, hinges, or whatnot, making it one solid steel piece. That also means that the FluidStance Lift is built to last, probably longer than even the laptop that sits on it, making it not only a minimalist yet multi-functional desk accessory but also a sustainable one, too.
