Mid-century Modern Inspired Gaming Desk
Cache is designed to streamline the gaming industry with an aesthetic that harmonizes with the homes of modern gamers. Heavily inspired by mid-century modern design, cache sets to elevate one’s gaming experience while expanding Design Within Reach to a broader target market.
Duration: 14 weeks
Not officially affiliated with DWR/Maison Margiela
Solo Project
WHY
To shift the direction of gaming products, designing experiences that resonate with a wider audience.
Design Opportunity
Majority of gaming desks on the market follow the same trendy gaming aesthetic, a look not everyone enjoys.
The desk is the foundation of all gaming setups; streamlining your devices to create an effective user flow.
Therefore, what options are there for those who want a gaming desk but dislike the typical aggressive design?
This is a question Design Within Reach can collaborate with Maison Margiela to provide a solution for. Creating something the gaming, tech, and fashion industry has never seen.
Lack of desk space due to large number of gaming products
Chaotic cable management
Gaming aesthetic clashing with living space
Needing numerous extension outlets to charge devices on desk
Complications customizing setup
Pain Points
Create a desk with a built-in hidden cable management system and outlet
Create a desk that strays away from the standard gaming aesthetic
Create a desk that enhances the transition between work and play
How Might We...
THE GOAL
Revolutionize the gaming desk so that it solves these issues through stylization, in a way that aligns with Design Within Reach & Maison Margiela's manifesto.
DWR is a brand that gives value to living spaces through exceptionally crafted, timeless designed furnishings. Collaborates with numerous home furnishing brands to bring iconic designs directly to consumers. appeals to customers who are willing to invest in authentic, expensive, but well-crafted modern furniture.
Brand Identity
functional convenience
intuitive
timeless luxury
adaptable
Giving myself guidelines as I proceed through the ideation part of the design process.
Design Criteria’s
These quick cardboard mockups revealed flaws in some of my initial design decisions. Gaining a clearer sense of scale allowed me to refine the concept and move the process forward more effectively.
Rapid Prototyping
Learning How to Solve Problems Through Stylization
The process of concept building, ideating, branding, and constantly refining this project throughout my journey as a designer truly allowed me to grow and define what good design means to me.
Refinement, refinement, & refinement
Ideation Process
Cache Collection
Design Within Reach and Maison Margiela merge precision and restraint to create a desk that adapts to the needs of modern work. Integrated technology including power access, device storage, and display support is concealed within a clean, minimalist form. The result is a workspace that remains quiet when not in use and highly functional when it needs to be.
Timeless Functionality
Cache features dual power outlets with three USB-C ports, 360-degree sound speakers, an internal cable management system, a retractable storage platform, and a concealed monitor housing; designed to meet the evolving needs of the modern work and entertainment space.
Seamless Adaptability
Every component of Cache is designed for effortless disassembly, adjustment, and replacement. Each leg panel connects with precision-engineered magnets, calibrated to hold firmly while allowing easy removal. Legs can be configured to match your needs, whether you prefer power outlets positioned at the back, additional speakers, or a layout tailored to your workflow.
Controlled Chaos
Cache is the result of a shared design language between Maison Margiela and Design Within Reach, where quiet precision meets purposeful utility. Inspired by Margiela’s approach to reinterpretation, the desk conceals its technology within a refined structure that adapts with the user. It is a modern object shaped by subtle transformation and thoughtful restraint.
Current Setting: PLAY