Getting a desk clean and tidy can be a very tough job, especially when work or study gets the better of us. Putting things where they should be is one thing, but removing things that shouldn’t be there in the first place can be bothersome if you’re in a hurry. That rush is most often the reason why “stuff” piles up on our desk until they become an insurmountable pile that needs to be cleaned up in a jiffy. There’s really no graceful way to do that, so this desk design simply throws all caution to the wind in what is effectively the equivalent of sweeping the dust under the rug.
Designers: Park Hyeongwoo, Jung Jaepil
Clearing a desk of foreign objects that don’t belong there could require a few trips to cabinets or even the kitchen. That might be OK if you have something like a portable tray you can put all those things into and make your round only once. That’s almost never the case, though, leaving you scrambling if a visitor is coming over and you need to clean up the disk instantly.
Flip is a desk concept that puts a rather comical twist to that situation with a design that could actually work, depending on what’s commonly on your desk. At first glance, it almost looks like a plain, minimalist desk with a sheet of metal for the top and powder-coated tubes for the legs. That is until you look below and see the sheet of Oxford fabric hanging underneath.
The concept behind the desk’s “cleanup feature” is simple and borderline ridiculous. In an “emergency” where you need to instantly clear the desk, you pull the Velcro straps and release the buckles that keep the sheet stretched and almost unseen beneath the table. This causes the sheet to move backward and form something akin to a basket near the back. Simply flip the desk and watch your stuff fall into the fabric.
Of course, this only works if there’s nothing that will break among your things. Fortunately, there is a shelf near the rear for putting laptops, mugs, and other valuables you’d rather not come crashing down. It is an admittedly funny way to clean up the desk, and it’s probably not going to be too effective for more discerning guests. Of course, it’s not a serious design anyway, but it does give a rather humorous spin to the act of flipping the table in exasperation, especially from trying to tidy up your desk in less than a minute.
