The Zen Desk Organizer

Many home office settings can easily become cluttered or stressful places. Papers pile up, things are strewn around and overall it can be difficult to manage keeping a desk organized. Many organizational features on desks can feel out of place because they don't fit together aesthetically. I wanted to create an entire organizational system with a theme so that every part of the desk felt intentional, functional and beautiful. I modeled my desk after the art of Japanese zen gardens because of their tranquil and organic nature.

- Autodesk Fusion 360

I wanted to model a modular desk organizer that was also highly customizable.

Zen gardens seemed like the perfect inspiration to emulate the peaceful workplace environment that I wanted my organizational system to show. They are simplistic in nature while still retaining a sense of balance.

The desk itself was modeled with a groove to enable the organizational tiles to slip into place. The groove isn't deep and runs near the top of the desk to minimize being distracting. I kept everything the same width and depth so that when the tiles slip in, they can go anywhere inside the groove.

I researched and noted the accessories that seemed essential as well as common. I used sand patterns, bonsai trees and rocks to create simple organizers that were subtle in their design. At first glance, I wanted the desk to feel as if it were a mini zen garden on the desk rather than various shelves or dishes. These are what I decided to include in the final design:

Headphone stand

Smartphone stand

Cord management

Bonsai shelf

Magazine filer

Card holder

Trinket bowl

Pen cup

Pen tray

Book ends

Post-It tray

Wireless phone charger pad

Smartwatch charger

Coaster

Filler tiles x4

Each accessory tile can be placed however you like. The tiles were designed so that the patterns of the "sand" would align no matter the orientation.

These are some possible placements of the accessories. Overall, I think that the final design looks and feels lively but not overly disorientating. I am extremely pleased with the final product and hope to actually build this for myself one day.