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Nine months ago, Zoom was a quick way to plan for when to meet up; now, it’s how I talk to family, interact with friends, go to work, and attend classes. Zoom has become all of the spaces I used to exist but are now virtual and all on one screen.
It can be tiring to be on zoom all day, so if this is where we spend our days and nights, why don’t we decorate it to represent ourselves like we would our apartments, home, desk, or workspace? I approached this challenge by researching the top six ways to customize a zoom space to make it feel a bit more like a home than a screen.
1. Interior Design
By now we have all seen someone hanging out in outer space, by the beach, or recreating a scene from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids but you don’t have to be limited to the default! Similar to your own room this is the space for self-expression. You can virtually put up the fairy lights you always wanted that won’t affect fire policy, purchase the million-dollar painting you admire and have it on your back wall, attend class from the mansion you have in Hawaii, or draw something that makes you happy for others to see. Make your background into the home you want and that makes you smile throughout the day. There is no limit to where and what your zoom interior design can be.
2. Wall Color Options
Similar to how your choice of paint can determine the feeling you have when you walk into a room so can your zoom “walls”. To change your zoom room walls open the preferences general options screen and it will allow you to choose a lighter or a darker theme. This can help set the tone of how you feel when you open the application and when opening the side panel for chats or viewing participants.
3. Name Plate for Your Desk
One option in zoom allows you to select and change your default name. This allows you to customize your name to your favorite Star Wars character, add a fun fact, or state where you are located. This option can be utilized for humor or an ice breaker to get to know your zoom mates better. You can also include which pronouns you prefer to be used when you are addressed. To do this open the participation option at the bottom of your zoom screen and hover over your name until you see the more option. Here you can click and hit “Rename” to customize your nametag as it appears to everyone else in Zoom. It is a great way to have fun and to get to know everyone as you learn where they are connecting from or their favorite candy!
4. Emoji Decorations
Sometimes it can be awkward sitting in silence when someone asks a question to a zoom group. Are you going to be the one to talk first? It feels like you are awkwardly shouting yes, no, or good job and then quickly turning your sound off. That is where I have found the reactions and participant’s options have saved me from my virtual anxiety! By clicking the Participants button on the bottom panel it will pull up pre-set indicators to allow you to click yes, no, go slower, go faster, and more. Similarly, you can click “Reactions” on the bottom panel to virtually comment with a thumbs up or a clap in the top right corner of your video. Zoom allows you to change the skin tone of your icons to personalize your virtual reactions. Customize through your zoom preferences under general to find the thumbs-up skin tone options to personalize your reactions!
5. Personal Portrait
Class is happening in five minutes, your hair is crazy, and there is no way you are turning that camera on. If your professor allows this, it is an easy solution to leave your webcam off. With your camera off, Zoom displays your name across the little gray square. However, when you look to the left of your square, someone has their beautiful senior photo image. Profile pictures are a fun way to add a little bit of you into the virtual space. Try uploading your favorite image of yourself or an exciting icon representing you by opening the preferences profile options and clicking the little gray head icon to upload your own picture!
6. Morning Routine Station
I know I won’t be the only person to show up to early morning zoom with crazy hair or who stopped wearing makeup the second week of virtual learning. You should always feel beautiful no matter what you are wearing but some days I just wish the camera could be a little less detailed with my puffy bags under my eyes or the pimple that showed up on Monday morning. Now to get ready, I use Zoom’s built-in skincare routine! Under the preferences video options, you can enable touch up my appearance. It doesn’t change a large amount but blurs just enough where the pimple starts to fade and I have a nice little fake glow/ blur to help hide my new fifteen-second morning routine of turning on my zoom application.
I hope you enjoyed this zoom home decoration tutorial and be sure to comment down below what your zoom interior design looks like! Have fun decorating!