Tag Archives: office

Paper saddlebag hangs over the edge to keep your desk organized

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We only have a very finite desk space, constrained by the available area in our rooms or offices. We can always stack up desk organizers or have drawers beneath to make up for it, but those can only go so far. One underutilized area of our desks is often the sides, and there will always be at least two free edges even if you have a corner table. Taking advantage of that unused space, this rather unusual desk organizer hangs a saddlebag on the side of your table, providing not only a place to put pens and notebooks inside, but even a spot for your phone or drink on top. Best of all, it’s made of a sustainable material that looks more like luxurious leather than paper.

Designer: Tilla Goldberg for Richard Lampert

You’d normally hear of saddlebags only in relation to horses or even camels, but our work desks are just as much beasts of burden as these animals. And just like on those, the SALTO dangles off to the side to provide more storage than our overcrowded desks can already accommodate. It’s deep and spacious enough for notebooks, pens, cables, or even headphones, just about anything you want to keep out of sight but still within easy reach.

It even has enough room for a power strip, which is probably the last thing you’d think of putting inside. The bag’s design actually creates a simple loop at the bottom for the strip’s cable to pass through, becoming the only location where it snakes its way to a power outlet. It’s an unusual but effective cable management system, letting those wires all drop off to the side and disappear into the abyss that is the SALTO bag.

There is one odd and potentially problematic part of the saddlebag’s design, at least in the way it’s being advertised. The half-circle tray that sits on top becomes a place for more important items you’ll always want to have access to, like your phone or a glass of water. The latter, however, might be a cause for concern, considering how the weight of the bag’s contents could very well be heavy enough to pull that tray off the table. You can probably imagine the disaster if that drink spills inside, especially if there’s a power strip there as well.

The SALTO is also a very sustainable design that’s surprisingly made of paper. Technically, it’s a type of washable vegan paper that’s being used as a leather alternative, which explains its fabric-like texture and composition. It definitely looks elegant and stylish, especially when hanging from a minimalist desk that has all its clutter cleared and dumped into this bag.

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Simple Sheet Metal Tool Rack lets you easily store and access Workshop Gear for DIY Projects

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It has the elegance of a minimalist laptop stand, with the ability to hold practically any DIY or compact workshop tool. Say hello to the Screwdriver Rack from Metalter. It’s made of a grand total of 3 metal plates, held together using four screws. It’s visually simple, yet acts as a nifty organizer for your cluttered workshop. With slots to place your screwdrivers, pliers, cutters, Allen keys, files, and all your other tinkering paraphernalia, Metalter’s Screwdriver Rack keeps your desk clean while you work on all your technical and small-scale DIY projects. If you love to solder, fix watches, build circuits, repair gadgets, or fiddle around with EDC and other tools… this $25 bad boy is perfect.

Designer: Metalter

Click Here to Buy Now

The rack features a slick, sheet metal design made from anodized aluminum (sort of the same as your MacBook). It’s classy, lightweight, and does the job well. Different cutouts on the rack allow you to dock different tools in, although nothing’s set in stone. You can use the rack exactly however you want, depending on how many tools you have. Separate them by category or frequency, the system is a whole lot better than having a cluttered drawer cabinet filled with your tools that you then have to fish through.

Featuring 50 cutouts for organized storage, this tool organizer boasts a convenient 45-degree angle for effortless access to your equipment, and a non-slip base that prevents the rack from moving around. The double-layered design keeps tools upright and separated, while the platform at the bottom provides additional storage for hardware. For even greater convenience, consider adding a magnetic strip to the bottom platform so that your screws and bolts don’t go rolling around while you work.

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Modular office furniture brings the freedom and flexibility of LEGO to the workplace

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Gone are the days of uniform-looking office cubicles that feel designed to suck the soul out of employees. Although they have their own downsides, the so-called “open floor plans” bring a bit of customization to office spaces, letting people’s and companies’ characters shine. Of course, office space is never infinite, and workers have to make do with the sometimes cramped horizontal allowance they have. Maximizing every inch of that space requires not only being creative but also furniture that delivers the functionality that you need while being space-efficient as well. This office furniture collection offers exactly that with a modular system that you can mix and match to your needs, taking inspiration from one of the most popular modular designs in modern history: LEGO blocks.

Designer: Form Us With Love for String Furniture

OK, they might not connect to each other like LEGO bricks, which would be impractical and tedious to use anyway, but the way you can combine different “block” sizes in almost endless ways is reminiscent of the creative toy. There are six different sizes of components, ranging from cube storage to rectangular shelves, and you can arrange them in any way you see fit, as long as you have horizontal and vertical clearance. You can put them side by side like a long shelf, stack them on top of each other like a cabinet, in a straight line, or in an L-shaped corner configuration. Your creativity and space are the limits.

The pieces almost look like LEGO blocks, at least metal LEGO blocks. They are made from thin with a perforated grid pattern that is meant to give them an industrial aesthetic. Of course, these holes can serve functional purposes as well, allowing you to hang hooks, screw in handles, and maybe even decorate the surfaces with your personal photos and mementos. Presuming you or your company purchases different colored sets, you might even be able to mix up colors to add even more personality to your office space.

The concept of modular furniture is nothing new, but most of these designs tend to have a fixed appearance or mode of operation, allowing owners to only remove or add parts that are specifically designed for the system. With a minimalist design that adopts the simplest shapes of squares and rectangles, Center Center allows for maximum flexibility and, more importantly, encourages creativity and individuality that are easily lost in many work environments these days.

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Baluchon’s Tiny House Serves As An Office For A Health Professional Who Works On The Go

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Acclaimed tiny home maker Baluchon recently created a tiny house that is intended to be a portable house for a health worker. Named the L’atelier de Saint-Joseph or Saint Joseph’s Workshop, it is founded on a double-axle trailer, measuring almost 13 ft in length. The home features a finishing of red cedar cladding and aluminum and is powered by a standard RV-style hookup. We aren’t sure what kind of healthcare the structure will be used for, but it is designed for a healthy professional who will be offering advice from there.

Designer: Baluchon

The interior of the structure is quite compact and features a finish of solid oak and spruce. It is filled with loads of natural light, due to the generous glazing. Curtains have been incorporated into the home to offer privacy.  As you enter the space, you are welcomed by a reception area. There is a generous amount of space near the large window, and it is occupied by a bed with loads of integrated storage. A work area with a desk is located nearby, and it includes some seating as well, including more storage space. A compact wood-burning stove has been incorporated as well to heat up the small office.

The structure doesn’t contain any sleeping lofts, as it isn’t going to be used as a home, but Baluchon did integrate some loft storage space above the bathroom. The bathroom seems to be quite compact, and it only includes a sink, shower, and toilet. The L’atelier de Saint-Joseph isn’t very well-equipped, but it does have all the essentials one would need to get their work done throughout the day. It isn’t intended to be utilized as a home, hence it doesnt feature a kitchen or sleeping loft, but it does include a workspace, as well as a comfy bed for rest.

We aren’t aware of what the L’atelier de Saint-Joseph is priced at, but Baluchon’s models and tiny homes usually start at around  US$85,000.

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Tulipan Pod lets you keep your privacy but still be connected to the outside world

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As much as I love working with my officemates, there are times when I wish my cubicle had a mute button so I could focus on whatever task I need to finish at the moment. But of course unless I had my own room where I could close the door or I step away from my space and hide somewhere, that cannot happen. Companies that have a more creative work space can use the more innovative open space layouts and furniture that we’re seeing lately.

Designer: Industrial Facility for +Halle

The Tulipan Pod is one such kind of furniture that was developed for +Halle by London design studio Industrial Facility. It’s basically an enclosed workspace that is not totally isolated but gives the user the option of temporarily shutting away other people in the office or still working in a private space but being a bit more “open”. It also has a softer look than other enclosed workspaces that we’re seeing as it gives off a plush texture.

The pod has a cylindrical shape with one half of it stable and immobile, featuring a small table where you can place your laptop and other small work tools. The other half swivels around and can serve as your door to close out the outside world. There’s a seat with a soft back so you’re comfortable even when enclosed. If you want to talk to other people or see your environment, you just swivel out. The top part is also open so you still get to be connected to your surroundings and you also get properly circulating air.

Of course if you’re claustrophobic, you probably will not want to swivel into the pod or use the pod at all. But for those who need a bit of privacy while still have the option to be connected to the rest of your office, then this is a pretty good alternative to keep out chatty officemates when you need to focus.

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Toko Meeting Pod is a modular, flexible, beautiful office space

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Most of my professional life has involved working in start-ups or small companies. And most of the time, our offices don’t have the regular cubicles and set-up you see in the corporate world. I’m thankful for that because just seeing those constricting environments already stifles my creativity. A lot of the smaller companies have learned to adapt more creative modular setups in their workspaces to give employees better working conditions.

Designer: Carl Gustav Magnusson

The Toko Meeting Pod is a modular system for offices that want to have a more unique and open space working environment. The way the basic structure is set up, it can become a regular working space for several people, a place where you can do meetings, a space where you can eat together, or maybe even all of the above at different times. It is also meant to be a freestanding design that you can relocate or reconfigure according to what you need at the moment.

The pod can be made from different combinations of materials like wood veneer, engineered wood, and wool felt panels. The wall structure also lets you have visual and acoustic separation while the textile-like properties lets light into the space and the acoustic panels also give you sound absorption for your meetings and conferences.

The Toko Meeting Pod also comes with integrated power and has build-in credenza storage and wall mounts so you can put monitors, whiteboards, shelving. The space can also accommodate tables and seating areas so it’s basically an affordable, sustainable, and flexible space that’s an alternative to the usual office design.

The post Toko Meeting Pod is a modular, flexible, beautiful office space first appeared on Yanko Design.

Toko Meeting Pod is a modular, flexible, beautiful office space

Posted on by

Most of my professional life has involved working in start-ups or small companies. And most of the time, our offices don’t have the regular cubicles and set-up you see in the corporate world. I’m thankful for that because just seeing those constricting environments already stifles my creativity. A lot of the smaller companies have learned to adapt more creative modular setups in their workspaces to give employees better working conditions.

Designer: Carl Gustav Magnusson

The Toko Meeting Pod is a modular system for offices that want to have a more unique and open space working environment. The way the basic structure is set up, it can become a regular working space for several people, a place where you can do meetings, a space where you can eat together, or maybe even all of the above at different times. It is also meant to be a freestanding design that you can relocate or reconfigure according to what you need at the moment.

The pod can be made from different combinations of materials like wood veneer, engineered wood, and wool felt panels. The wall structure also lets you have visual and acoustic separation while the textile-like properties lets light into the space and the acoustic panels also give you sound absorption for your meetings and conferences.

The Toko Meeting Pod also comes with integrated power and has build-in credenza storage and wall mounts so you can put monitors, whiteboards, shelving. The space can also accommodate tables and seating areas so it’s basically an affordable, sustainable, and flexible space that’s an alternative to the usual office design.

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Eco-Friendly Design Concepts at NeoCon 2024: Transforming Workspaces

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NeoCon 2024 is just around the corner, and this year’s event is set to significantly impact the world of commercial interior design. Taking place June 10-12 at The Mart in Chicago, this 55th edition is expected to attract around 50,000 attendees who will explore the latest trends and innovations in shared spaces. Let’s dive into what to expect, focusing on the themes of design, well-being and sustainability.

Design: Creating Spaces That Connect Us

Design is at the heart of NeoCon, and this year’s event is about creating environments that foster community and collaboration. Gone are the days of bland, cubicle-filled offices. Today, it’s all about spaces that spark spontaneous interactions and genuine connections. Imagine walking into an office that feels more like a dynamic, buzzing café than a traditional workspace.

For instance, products like GRVT by Ghent and KI’s Sonrisa Lounge Furniture offer mobile, flexible solutions that can transform any environment into a collaborative hub at a moment’s notice. These designs cater to the ever-changing needs of modern workspaces. Spacestor’s Portals Huddle, with its easy-to-relocate collaboration spaces, exemplifies how versatile and responsive workplace design has become.

The overall layout also plays a huge role. Gensler’s Design Forecast for 2024 highlights the importance of human-centric workplaces that inspire purpose and reflect organizational values. This means creating spaces where people can casually bump into each other, sparking creativity and camaraderie. These little moments can make a big difference in fostering a positive company culture.

Well-Being: The Science of Feeling Good

One of the most fascinating trends at NeoCon 2024 is the rise of neuroaesthetics—designing spaces that make you feel good based on how your brain reacts to certain elements. Think colors, sounds and even the art on the walls. It’s all about creating environments that boost your mood, productivity and overall well-being.

The Immersive Biophilic Garden by Garden on the Wall, for example, features indoor preserved gardens and moss walls that elevate moods and stimulate minds. Similarly, Egan Visual’s Sculpt Walls blend art with acoustics to create a sensory-rich experience, and CECOCECO’s ArtMorph panels use lighting and textures to soothe and captivate.

Colors play a significant part too. Studies show that natural patterns and shapes are easier for our brains to process, leading to a sense of calm and clarity. Shaw Contract’s Arctic Escape collection and Bernhardt’s Ice Collection of cobalt blue tables are designed to evoke specific emotional responses. Warm colors like Pantone’s color of the year, Peach Fuzz, and cool blues highlighted in ASID’s 2024 Trends Outlook also contribute to environments that make us feel good.

Unexpected pops of color, engaging textures and artful patterns can act as positive distractions in stressful environments. Designtex’s Joy Collection, with its vibrant colors and stimulating designs, brings a sense of clarity and delight, especially to healthcare settings. Collaborations like Stylex and Carole Baijings’ new color palette show how creative use of color can enrich our daily experiences.

Sustainability: Designing for the Future

Sustainability has shifted from a trend to a non-negotiable element of modern design. With the built environment contributing significantly to global CO2 emissions, there’s a pressing need for eco-friendly practices. NeoCon 2024 showcases the leaders in sustainable design, highlighting materials and solutions that reduce environmental impact without sacrificing style or functionality.

Haworth’s DesignLab emphasizes circular design—considering sustainability at every stage of a product’s life cycle. Andreu World’s Circular Design Challenge encourages industry professionals to embrace greener practices like eco-design, zero waste management and carbon neutrality.

Biophilic design, which integrates natural elements like plants and natural light into spaces, is also gaining traction. This approach reduces stress and fosters a deeper connection to nature. Scandinavian Spaces’ Tinnef, made from 100% recycled plastic, and Davis Furniture’s X50 collection, featuring components made of pre-consumer recycled content, are leading the charge in this space.

Noteworthy sustainable innovations include Ultrafabrics’ Volar Bio, which features a mix of recycled and bio-based content, and Turf’s Stone Textures, which emulate natural stone using eco-friendly materials. Slalom’s Bloom product emphasizes acoustic wellness using bio-based materials, while C.F. Stinson’s Sea Change textiles are crafted from post-consumer recycled polyester. Nienkamper’s Vox Tambour, using the eco-material Eelgrass, demonstrates how sustainable materials can offer excellent acoustic and thermal regulation properties.

NeoCon 2024 is set to showcase how thoughtful design can create environments that are functional, beautiful and supportive of human connections and environmental stewardship. As we look forward to the innovations on display, it’s clear that the future of design lies in creating spaces that are as good for people as they are for the planet. This holistic approach makes NeoCon 2024 an unmissable event for anyone interested in the future of our shared spaces.

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This ‘Office VR Headset’ focuses on productivity without cutting the real world out

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Immersive VR is great for entertainment… but for work, not that much. The idea is to be able to interact with spatial elements, but not have them completely cut you off from the real world. Just the way a laptop screen or desktop monitor offers you only with a window of productivity but still gives you the option of stepping away to attend meetings, talk to coworkers, or take notes/make doodles, this VR headset concept from Umeå Institute of Design student Simon Ljungblahd lets you easily switch between real and spatial life.

The VR headset features a familiar design, but instead of having screens strapped to your eyes, this one mounts them on a visor-style hinge that you can flip upwards when not in use, allowing yourself to engage with the real world. Meanwhile, a screen on front acts much like the one found on the Vision Pro, giving people around you a sense of your status, whether you’re busy, free, or even when you’re up for a coffee break!

Designer: Simon Ljungblahd

The headset’s design is relatively lightweight, with a display unit that doesn’t need to be bulky because it doesn’t wrap around your eyes, cutting light from the outside world out. It sits ahead of you almost like a HUD (Heads-up Display), giving you the spatial experience just within a portion of your PoV, like a desktop monitor would. Except, you can move your head around to see more of the spatial environment around you. Or look through the corner of your eye to see the real world. When you want to quickly leave the simulation, flip the headset up and you’re out of virtual reality.

“As screen resolution on these devices increases, the use-case of work, or productivity, becomes more interesting as it enables users to view interfaces with a high density of information, which is necessary for that use-case. Spatial Computing would allow users to have a full 360-degree interface and with depth, which would enable much richer multi-tasking,” says Simon. “The depth aspect would also potentially create more intuitive interfaces when it comes to use cases like 3D modeling, or map viewing. The Spatial Computing headsets that are made for entertainment, social experiences, and simulations are designed to optimize the user experience for those use-cases, but so far, no headset on the market is made to focus solely on the use-case of productivity.”

The headset is unique in that it offers the best of both VR headsets and desktop monitors. VR headsets keep you locked in an environment that can affect your productivity by cutting the real world out, but also give you a sense of fatigue with too much use. Laptops and desktop monitors, on the other hand, don’t give you unlimited virtual space for multiple tabs/windows and the ability to work in 3D. Simon’s design therefore strikes a clever balance between the two. Besides, I love the idea of the display on the front of my headset being used to let others know whether I’m busy, free, or up for a quick break in between work sessions!

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Want a quick power nap at work? This clever chair will help you catch a few winks

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Exhaustion is an epidemic. A staggering 62% of adults worldwide struggle with sleep deprivation, leading to a domino effect on health and productivity. Enter the Power Nap Chair, a revolutionary furniture design that tackles this challenge head-on.

Designed by Martin Tsankov, the idea of the Power Nap Chair came from his friend and business partner Milen Kisov, who discovered that power naps helped significantly boost his productivity at work. Scientifically proven to enhance cognitive function, memory, and cardiovascular health, short 15-30 minute naps are a game-changer. But finding a suitable space for napping at work has traditionally been a hurdle. Existing solutions like sleeping pods are bulky and expensive (not to mention that most offices don’t have them), and napping at your desk isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s also frowned upon… but the Power Nap chair offers a slick, cozy, and effective alternative.

Designers: Martin Tsankov & Milen Kisov

Sort of like a lounge chair meets a baby stroller, the Power Nap Chair comes with a relaxing design that you can lay down in, and a hood that cocoons you in your own personal private bubble. Simplicity reigns supreme – the chair is free of distracting technology, fostering complete disconnection. This makes it perfect for both open-plan offices and compact workspaces. Sustainability is woven into the very fabric of the chair. Carefully chosen, fully recyclable materials are used throughout, minimizing environmental impact.

The Power Nap Chair is built with three core components: a metal frame, an upholstered wooden body, and a foldable hood. The frame is crafted from machine-bent and powder-coated carbon steel profiles, echoing the chair’s triangular design for a sturdy foundation. The body is constructed from 104 individual CNC-milled birch plywood triangles, meticulously hand-sanded, and finished with non-toxic linseed oil. Each triangle is then encased in flame-resistant, biodegradable memory foam before being upholstered in a comfortable woolen fabric. The hood, made from the same fabric, is specially designed to fold for easy storage while providing essential privacy for napping users.

“Our main challenge is reversing societal stigma around resting in the workplace by creating a product fit for a modern lifestyle where relaxation and productivity intersect,” says designer Martin Tsankov, who won an A’ Design Award this year for the Power Nap Chair. The chair looks inviting, comfortable, and has a unique low-poly aesthetic that your eyes are sure to fall in love with right before they shut for your quick nap. The chair holds a design patent, although it isn’t in production just yet. A final prototype was, however, exhibited at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in February 2024.

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