Creative Brief: Slide Shelf System

Cardboard prototype of Slide Shelf

The Slide Shelf System was designed with one guiding principle: adaptability. The domestic and work landscape is changing dramatically. There are shifts underway that have managed to eliminate many of the things we own and need at home and at the office. This means that the few things we do keep around are essential or have special value. With this in mind we set out to create a storage system for them.

Slide Shelf sketches and development

 

Slide Shelf System flat pattern for bin

 

Slide Shelf System CAD

 

Slide Shelf Cardboard mockup

 

In order to accommodate the range of objects and settings we foresaw could be served by the Slide Shelf System we envisioned it as a modular organization tool. What we found in our research was an abundance of smaller ledges and shelves that despite their aesthetic merits lacked structure and flexibility. We looked at a variety of solutions, including single material designs, stacked shelves, layered shelves and materials outside of our vendor base. We discovered that separating the shelves individually would allow the greatest functionality, despite the hardware requirements. The variety in the size of objects being stored or displayed meant that the shelf should be able to grow and adapt to them.
The final design broke down the function into separate components: Brackets, bins and shelves. Slide’s brackets were developed with the objective of providing support for larger, heavier objects such as art books, without losing sight of material efficiency. The bins are the first accessories of what we believe could be a line of components that enhance the storage options of the system. The bins were selected as the first to be introduced in the line because they are the most context-agnostic components we developed. Their ability to be positioned along any point in the shelf provides customers a variety of functional and aesthetic configurations. This flexibility we believe is a critical capability given the range in the scale, weight and relationships between objects being displayed and stored.


Slide Shelf System prototype

Slide Shelf System Bins prototypes

Slide Shelf System Prototype

From a materials perspective we decided that it would be important to design with our existing manufacturing partners. The brackets, bins and wooden shelves are all made in Pennsylvania. We worked with the same factories that make our Bendant Lamps and Two-Tone Tables respectively. The materials were selected for their durability, beauty and sustainable attributes.


Slide Shelf System in use bathroom