IEBPROJECT CASE STUDY
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CAD view of a wood desk top with three rectangular port cut-outs in a row along one edge

Product ventureDrawing 17 of 33

Complete
Desk

A desk with ports machined into the top and a bolt grid underneath, so a lamp, a shelf or a monitor arm drops in without replacing the desk. Only one top actually exists, cut on totes in a garage, and the rest of the desk doesn't.

Sheet 02 of 05/The idea

Desks get replaced for the wrong reason

People don't usually replace a desk because it wore out, they replace it because what they need at the desk changed.

CAD view of the small desk top with two rectangular ports
PL 05Small top, two ports.
CAD view of a two-tier shelf module that sits into a desk port
PL 07Two-tier shelf.

Sheet 03 of 05/Parts

Issued as separate drawings

This project is more than one project. Each part below is its own set, with its own sections and pictures.

Sheet 04 of 05/Where it stands

What exists now

Everything except the top is still a drawing: the only real thing is a medium top with all three ports cut, and the legs, modules and a finished desk exist only in CAD.

A walnut desk top resting on storage totes in a garage, with three identical rectangular ports cut along one edge
PL 10The top with its ports cut. Each pocket takes the same module, which is the entire premise of the desk.
The walnut top seen end on at a low angle, the three ports lining up down the far edge
PL 11The same top from the end. One drawing cut three times, so any module fits any port.
The walnut desk top laid across two plastic storage totes in an open garage, with a driveway and ladder visible behind
PL 12Built on totes in a garage. No shop, which is worth saying because the tolerances still had to hold.

Sheet 05 of 05/Got wrong

The order I did it in

I designed a whole product line, a brand and a storefront before cutting a single port into anything real, and if I restart, it starts with one port and one module, not a pitch deck.