This colorful writing desk brings energy and playfulness to your busy work

Posted on 25/09/2023 by JC Torres

The desk has always been associated with serious activities, whether it’s work from the office, school work, or anything else that requires your utmost concentration. That, unfortunately, gives this piece of furniture a solemn and almost emotionless atmosphere, something people would avoid under normal circumstances. That’s why most people try to add photos, toys, and knickknacks to their desks in an attempt to inject some life into their workspace. Of course, there’s no rule that says that desks need to be somber and serious affairs, as this multi-functional writing desk tries to prove with a dynamic composition of lines and colors that radiate vibrancy and energy that will hopefully help prime your mind for the work that lies ahead.

Designer: Alessandro Mendini (by Porro)

We’ve seen our fair share of desks here at Yanko Design, and most of them take the form of flat horizontal planes with plenty of room for papers, computers, and stationery. There is, however, also a class of desks, particularly writing desks, that are practically vertical shelves with retractable or fall-front/drop-front panels that transform into areas for writing, typing, and any other kind of work. The Linea writing desk is this latter kind, but it goes beyond the typical monochromatic wooden writing desks to add a bit of life to your space.

Based on rediscovered designs by famed postmodernist Italian architect and designer Alessandro Mendini, the Linea writing desk utilizes dynamic lines and bright colors to catch your attention and tickle your mind into activity. There are now gentle curves or circles here, just lines that cross each other to form geometric patterns usually associated with dynamism, such as triangles and diamonds.

Of course, lines aren’t enough to really make a design pop, and Linea also employs bold colors that complement and contrast with each other. The shiny cellulose acetate surfaces bring these hues to life, while the chiaroscuro effect of contrasting dark and light colors gives it more depth. The Linea writing desk goes against the flow of beautiful yet lifeless minimalist desks and makes an ode to boldness and creativity in the hopes of inspiring the same.

The writing desk is actually just one-third of a set that makes up this Linea line. Also part of that family are two low cupboards, one with hinged doors and another with an open face and a drawer. Regardless of the form, all three embrace the same design of lines and colors that capture not only the eyes but also the imagination, giving the brain a little exercise to help get your creative juices flowing for the work you’re about to face.

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This bureau-style desk comes with a foldout table, a shelf, and even a dock for your laptop

Posted on 18/08/2022 by Sarang Sheth

Where was this when I was searching for WFH furniture?!

Designed by Japan-based Taiji Fujimori Atelier, the Writing Bureau creates the perfect nook for your productive work sessions. It sports a small footprint thanks to its folding design, but opens out into a spacious writing surface for your notepads, tablets, phone, charger, and finally your laptop. A slot at the back also lets you dock your laptop and shut the desk when not in use.

Designer: Taiji Fujimori Atelier

The Writing Bureau creates a wonderfully immersive space that captures your attention by surrounding your periphery. The vertical panel behind the desk is perfect for post-it notes and other memorabilia/accessories, and a shelf-space underneath the desk is ideal for storing books, chargers, and anything you might need to access while working.

The desk comes made from Lauan laminated plywood, with a wax finish to smoothen out the edges, and sits on stainless steel legs that are capped off with melamine floor protectors. The desk starts at 172,500 yen ($1278 USD) , along with a $48 shipping fee.

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This adjustable desk with four different forms was constructed for designers to draw easily!

Posted on 28/02/2021 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

Artists spend a lot of time at their desks. It’s where all the magic happens. When they fail to provide what we need them for, it can get…frustrating. Sometimes it has to do with the height of the desk– the legs might be too short, resulting in using your spine to bend over the desktop just to get the final touches of a project done. Or, it could have to do with the angle of the desk– if it were just angled slightly lower, maybe the final draft would have already been completed. Recognizing the multiple issues that arise with artists, specifically designers, and their desks, Long Chan constructed Lift, a desk that can adjust to meet your needs.

From the right angle, Lift almost appears like a heavy-duty, oversized wooden TV tray table, but looking at it head-on, it’s rectified as the designer’s workstation. While my days spent eating chicken noodle soup on a TV tray table while watching Cartoon Network are over, Lift utilizes a sliding mechanism that echoes the same one as the iconic living room staple from yesteryear. In order to assume different shapes, Lift depends on two sliding wooden pegs on both sides. The sliding wooden pegs on Lift’s front legs lower the desk’s working space to assume the shape of a traditional writing desk, with additional storage space is made available in the process, similar to that of a traditional secretary desk. Then, the other sliding wooden peg, placed along the side of the desktop, adjusts the desktop to form a drawing workstation, which sets the working space of the desk at an angle.

Being a designer himself, Long Chan felt inspired to create Lift for those fussy scenarios where a traditional writing desk just doesn’t cater to all the needs of a designer. Speaking to this, Chan says, “When the designer needs [to work in] digital…mode, he can move the height to 85cm by rotating the axis on both sides. When the designer needs to take a rest or stand, he can adjust to 110cm height. Of course, users can adjust the angle of the table while sitting, so they can draw easily and not be bothered by the problem of incorrect perspective.”

Designer: Long Chan

With deep cabinets like that of a secretary desk, Lift provides ample space for both working and storage.

Lift’s prototype shows the four different positions it can assume.

Lift’s form as a writing desk.

When the leg’s sliding wooden peg is activated, Lift takes the shape of a traditional secretary’s desk.

Or, adjust the angle slightly to read or draw without having to compromise your line of sight.

Lift’s versatility depends on the four wooden pegs that frame it.

A school-desk that turns into a safety shelter during an earthquake

Posted on 07/12/2020 by Sarang Sheth

You never really know what sort of curveballs the year 2020 can throw at you. I mean we’ve had forest fires, a pandemic, murder hornets, there was a massive fireball spotted in the sky in Japan yesterday… so a mindset of preparedness is really our best shot at this point.

In that very vein, the Life Triangle Desk gives children the instant shelter they need in the event of a natural disaster at school. The desk looks and functions like any writing desk, but in the event of a quake or tremor (or honestly, even an attack on a school in a war-torn area), the desk converts into a secure triangle-shaped shelter against falling debris or shrapnel. In the event of a calamity, the desk surface can be lifted up to unlock it, allowing it to slide down, creating a triangular space underneath. Given that triangles are a naturally stable shape, the desk helps protect children from any large falling items by deflecting them. The desk also helps rescue teams who will instinctively know to check underneath them for victims and survivors.

The Life Triangle Desk is a winner of the Golden Pin Design Award for the year 2020.

Designers: Rui Sun, Wen Zhang, Guan-Chen Zhang, Er-Xuan Liu & Yu-Chao Li

The writing desk that sort of looks like a low-key minimalist artpiece

Posted on 19/03/2020 by Sarang Sheth

The Pill Writing Desk really challenges a lot of fundamental notions of desk-design, if it were. With an unusual shape that’s eye-catching when closed and functional when open, the Pill manages to behave like furniture but look a little like minimalist art. The circular desk comes firmly wall-mounted, which makes it comparable to a wall-hung painting rather than a 4-legged floor-resting desk.

The desk’s pill-inspired design is divided into three units. The upper semicircle serves as a writing space with enough storage for your belongings (including your laptop), while the lower quadrants act as a pair of cabinets for other items you may need to store.

Designer: Emko

A backpack for rural schoolchildren that converts into a writing desk!

Posted on 16/08/2019 by Sarang Sheth

Developed for schools in rural India, where it’s still pretty common for students to sit on the floor and study, Deskit provides children with a writing table attached right to their backpack. The standard canvas backpack comes with a collapsible hard-surface and legs built right into its front, giving kids a prop-up schooldesk to write on with their backpack right beside it, making it easier to access books and supplies while at school. Designed for PROSOC Innovation, the schoolbags are affordable as well as lightweight, enabling children with the tools to help them study better and more comfortably. Today, more than 20,000 school children are using DESKIT in ten different Indian states!

Designer: Eshan Sadasivan forPROSOC

The Intermodality writing desk was inspired by the beauty of a grand piano

Posted on 08/07/2019 by Sarang Sheth

Inspired by the prominent role and place of grand pianos in homes, the Intermodality desk is just as grand. With a design that follows the cues of the large instrument, the desk comes with a similar shape, size, and even features a large lid that opens sideways, like in a grand piano. Standing on three legs, like the musical instrument, the Intermodality desk is crafted from antiqued plywood, and features copper trimmings near the handles and at the base of the legs, adding a touch of finesse to the desk’s grand design.

The desk comes with five drawers on the front, ample writing space on top, and an additional four storage cabinets at the back, under the lid. The plywood’s 2D nature results in the desk having a chamfered, low-poly origami-esque design rather than curves like a wooden piano. This immediately gives it a sense of differentiation, making it look instantly recognizable but also unique at the same time!

The Intermodality Desk is a winner of the A’ Design Award for the year 2019.

Designer: Attila Stromajer

This 911 Writing Desk is clearly for die-hard Porsche-lovers

Posted on 02/10/2018 by Sarang Sheth

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The Porsche 911 Writing Desk by 3 GJB 17 gives you one more reason and opportunity to correct those commoners who pronounce it “Porsh” by telling them it is, in fact, “Por-shuh”…

Made from original Porsche 911 body parts, coated in Arctic Silver automotive paint, and finished with Custom Made American Walnut attachments that complement the car’s contours beautifully, the 911 Writing Desk takes the iconic car’s rear end, converting its boot hood into a writing surface that doubles up as a cabinet for storing your stationery (using a spring-loaded hinge that lifts the boot lid up).

There’s no reason you’d NEED the Porsche 911 Writing Desk over any other writing desk (an IKEA or Pottery Barn one, perhaps), but its design may sure leave you lusting after it anyway. Definitely the kind of furniture to be the focal point of your workspace, the Porsche 911 Writing Desk is unusual in every way, from its unlikely inspiration and material source, to the way the boot lid turns into a desk/privacy-partition, to just the surprisingly complementary combination of metal and wood styled to work together marvelously well… and when I say unusual, I mean unusual in a good way!

Designer: 3 GJB 17

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