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Yea or Nay, Part 2: Modular Desk Design Makes a Comeback

The Modulos system

By Rain Noe - October 9, 2017

in Furniture Design

[This post has been edited to reflect that Deskbloks and Modulos are two different entities.]

Last year we looked at Deskbloks, a design for modular desks that was a disaster on IndieGogo (just €27—not €27,000, just €27—raised on €30,000 goal). This year another design team has learned from those mistakes and come up with a similar-but-different system called Modulos:

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They've gotten rid of the steel mending plates used in the previous design, sensibly moved all of the ports to the edges of the blocks rather than the undersides and added a quarter-round module. Here's a complete list of the system's features:

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Basic module - a simple flat surface basic module
Rounded module - a module used when you want to create a rounded edge on your Modulos desk
Cabling hole module - a module with a cabling hole that enables you to handle that mess of cables that go through to the top of your work surface
Pencil holder module - a module with neat grooves that prevents your pencils from rolling off your work surface
iPad/iPhone dock - this module enables you to dock your tablet or mobile phone. It has a groove that fits your device and three strategically placed holes that lead your charger cable from below the desk
Rotary iPad/iPhone dock - this module has a groove that fits your devices with a center hole for cabling and allows you to rotate your device. This works great when you're using your iPad as a second screen or want to keep an eye on your phone screen at all times. It is available as an upgrade over standard modules available for +$49 per module.
"Twist" power outlet module - a module that has a very stylish, high-quality and super-functional metal add-on in the middle, that holds two power sockets! It is available as an upgrade over standard modules available for +$79 per module.
USB Hub module - a module with an integrated USB hub. We have designed and produced a prototype that includes a quality Sabrent USB 3.0 hub. This module will be available shortly in production as well. We need to test out some more options regarding the best USB hubs to integrate. We would love to hear your opinions about it!
Wireless charger module - a module with an integrated wireless charging pad neatly engraved into the surface. The prototype is done with a standard IKEA charger. We are looking into better options and better charger models to integrate.

Even with all of these features, I still cannot see the enduring benefit of having a desk built in this way. Kickstarter backers, however, disagree with me; at press time the Modulos had been successfully funded, with $34,164 pledge on a $30,000 goal. Kudos to the designers for learning from the mistakes of the previous iteration.

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What say you? Do you see any merits in the design, and would you buy one of these?

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Comments

Matej Grozdanović

7 years ago

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Hey Rain - thanks for the feature! However, for starters - I just wanted to clear one thing up. Modulos has nothing to do with Deskbloks (the previous campaigns) - we are a separate team that have been working on this thing for 3 years now (iterating over prototypes, doing some exhibitions to get public feedback...). All that time put into this is probably why we ended up with a better connection system and a bunch of other differences :)

The big benefit of having a modular system like this is the flexibility you get. You can buy a super-duper desk with something gadgety embedded (let's say a Qi charger), but the position of that is not chosen by you. There's also the fact that standards change over time, and you may end up with an expensive desk that doesn't charge your (new) gadget anymore. With Modulos that can be easily resolved with an upgrade, not changing the entire desk. There is a number of other cases why someone would find it useful at home, but there's also the question of offices. Imagine having an open office you just did and it's super cool and sleek. However, a year later you have 12 more people you need to fit and the old desks would have to either be replaced or used in a way that doesn't really work all that well because they weren't meant to be placed in that new way. With Modulos you have all the flexibility you want.

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- Rain Noe
  
  Matej Grozdanović
  
  7 years ago
  
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  Reply
  
  Hi Matej, thanks for commenting. The post has been edited to correct the information.
  
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Bobtato Smith

7 years ago

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The problem with modular [anything] is that once you've put it together, the allure of choice disappears, while whatever compromises were made to achieve modularity (seams, extra material) are with you for life. For most products, the space between the pretty-good mass-market option and the perfect custom-made option is very slim.

That said, I can kind of see this appealing to office managers in design-adjacent businesses (like PR or real estate), where everyone knows it's cool to make stuff but no one has ever owned a sketchbook or a saw.

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