As someone who learned industrial design think the most important thing is to have the desk match your use. There isn't any specific advice I could give as my desks are extremely tuned to my own needs (5.1 audio production, electronics, etc.). The most important thing is to get the width and depth right and to figure out where everything goes. Don't be afraid to add multiple levels either going up or down to add what…
Although "designers" (if they don't think a lot about functionality I prefer to call them stylists)
Love that. The best I've managed is to emphasize "graphic designer", but even that is often undeserved. Then again 'software engineer' is almost always at least as disingenuous.