DO: Multi-Function Desk Organizer

Brand Identity, Editorial Design, Product Design

2018

A series of products designed following the Bauhaus Style honouring the 100 anniversary of the famous design school.

The DO desk organizer serves multi-functionally according to the assembling way.

Abstract

Although almost everything right now moved to the digital era based on various modern technologies, still the working environment needs office supplies. Most of the offered Desk Organizers in the market are just rugged pre-made pieces on the user’s desk without space or the function consideration. And not all the organizers are that efficient or they are missing aesthetic elements.
The use of the material in creating those pieces was also a question as probably not all the used material is needed. The optimization between the users’ needs and what is offered is an important fundamental element in developing the products.
Organizing the office supplies on desks is an area of improvement in the use of the Bauhaus Style in abstracting and creating functional objects based on some important design elements.

CONCEPT

The Bauhaus style is one of the most important influences in Modern Design through their extensive work with geometric shapes and materials.

Following this style to create a multi-functional desk organizer based on the usage of geometric shapes and curves out of available materials, inspired by Bauhaus Spielzeug, the created organizer will be more like a puzzle in its structure and it depends on how the user will assemble the pieces together, the function will change and the outer look will change too.

The use of the pieces is not limited to the mentioned functions or the way of assembling as it can be very creative and out of the box in organizing them to serve the needed function.

Also, the desired goal involved a gamification way to break the routine of the work environment on a regular daily basis.

DO is a desk organizer and the first product in a series of home objects you can do it by yourself. DO is named after the initials of the desk organizer and also it summarizes the idea of the series.

Sketching and Prototyping

Sketching and prototyping were done using Autodesk Fusion 360.
The DO was done on the laser cutter “Epilog Fusion 60 Watt” in FAB LAB – Kamp-Lintfort at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.

Developing The Concept

On the way of developing the concept, Wood was thefirst material to be recommended to be used but therough idea of creating DO of woodcut and engraved on the CNC machine was not the best for the desired concept, some trails were done on the 3D printer tofigure out the dynamics and the differences between using wood and plastic printed material. And theconcept was developed in another direction to use the laser cutter technology. By comparing the results, the usage of the MDF cut on the laser cutter was preferable for the following reasons.

Material

Using the 3D printer would limit the end product to some sort of material with certain end look, but laser cutter was preferable as DO can be in many different materials like wood, Acrylic, Plexiglass, Polywood… Etc.. So the end product can have different looks and this depends on the intended market and the budget to give different aesthetics and dynamics to the design to fit different environments.

DO can suit different budgets and prices.

Grid

The Do was build based on a grid system, the 100 mm were divided

into the grid system and the challenge was to convert this grid from the 2D system to the 3D system and the other way back to convert it into a design that can work with the laser cutter machine that was the main technology used in building the DO.

Negative Spaces

The usage of negative spaces was an important aspect of creating DO as the unused spaces in the design is a waste of material and resources. So, the key element in the design was to use those negative spaces to create different functions and to save the unused material.

Time

As the products are intended to go to a production line in the future, using laser cutter technology is timeless compared to the requirements for just one print on the 3D printer.

Functionality

It serves the idea of DO as it’s based on the assembling and the disassembling pieces, by this the user can adjust the function he wants.

Simplicity

The initial idea was to have the DO as simple design as it can be out of basic geometric shapes and lines.

DO: Multi-Function Desk Organizer

The Grid

Mobile Phone Holder based on a grid of 5×5, it can be also used to keep the phone charging, to hold the watch, the earphones, and the two pieces can be assembled to create paper holders and many other functions.

THE CALENDAR

The Calendar consists of three different layers, all pieces are assembled without any screws. The Calendar can be easily adjusted day by day, and can be held by both hands.

THE Holder

The Holder can serve for many functions, as a pen holder or letters holder, It is easy assembled and the idea is built based on the negative spaces which are not used in one function can serve another one.

THE Game

The Game is a classic board puzzle game, it’s based on the classic idea of completing the missing picture. It can be a stress reliever during workdays. and also it can be easily assembled and disassembled without any need for screws as wooden classic screws are included.

THE box

The box is a secret box, when it’s assembled it can serve for many different functions and also, a watch can be plugged to it, it can be used to hide stuff or to hold objects which don’t fit in the pen holder. It has a simple idea but it needs time to practice it, so it’s not easy for strangers to open your hidden secrets.