CLIENT
PROJECT TYPE
YEAR
self
furniture design
2020

MODERNIZING THE
CLASSIC OFFICE DESK

PROJECT OVERVIEW
Designed to mitigate the negative affects of desk space clutter on productivity, while also increasing desk space real-estate and desk space workflow
How do we modernize the desk in a similiar way the chair was modernized with the Aeron chair by Herman Miller? This was the guiding design question during this project, continually asking myself this brought me along a process of bouncing between being creative and progressive to refining to a more conservative design concept.

HUMAN-CENTERED
DESIGN RESEARCH

OBSERVATION RESEARCH
Throughout this project, I observed real-life desk setups and had people show me how their desk set-ups progressed over the first week to the end of the month. This way, I could understand how people used and interacted with their desk-spaces.
key research conclusion
“My data showed people know their clutter is bad for them, yet their efforts in cleaning their desk to improve their workflow is sparse.” From this conclusion, I knew I needed to design a desk that was as dynamic and able to change along with the clutter on a person's desk.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

ANGULARITY
Angularity as a means of developing a high contrast form.
reductionism
Reductionism as a means of focusing on the essential elements of my design and nothing else.
chaos in confines
containing many layers of functionality within a serene, confined form.

concept development

design process
Initial ideation and refined concepts focused on functionality within the desk and/or parts of it.
First refined concept I realized I should combine a handful of the best concepts together.
Through extensive sketching, to CAD, sketching again, and back to CAD again, I was able to fully realize my design in its reduced and refined form factor

designed with dynamic
functionality in mind

design INTENT
Through the research on this project, I discovered people cluttered parts of the desk which weren't in active use, Bureax Desk sets out to prevent clutter by making every section of the desk active.