Hey, I'm Brendan!
I’m a passionate industrial designer graduating from RIT. I approach design problems as a meaningful exploration, seeking the most methodical solution.
The action sports industry has always inspired me, both in design and as a lifestyle. I aspire to focus on this passion by designing for active sports, specifically motocross. My life motto is: “Build the lifestyle you wish to live by.”
Where it all started...
Sketches
PROJECT GOAL
Create an innovative storage solution for
personal items in a collaborative office setting
Step 1
RESEARCH
I surveyed employees office behavior to gain a better
understanding of what exactly people bring to the
office everyday. While I did find some unexpected items
like bicycles and dogs, the majority of employees
reported bringing bags and jackets to work daily.
With these findings, I decided to explore storage
solutions specifically for organizing bags and jackets.
PROJECT GOAL
Create an innovative storage solution for
personal items in a collaborative office setting
Step 2
IDEATION
DESK CLAMP
Utilizes the edges of desks by
providing employees with a 15”-18”
slim friction clamp to hang bags and
jackets right at their side.
Pros?
Keeps the office
environment clean
Defines each employee
space with a unique slim column
SOFA STORAGE
Adds a standing-height counter to
Poppin’s stadium-like Block Party
Sofa and provides storage underneath
Pros?
Elevates Collaboration
Simple storage solution
DESK CUBBY
Adds a personal storage cubby to
the end cap of Poppin's current
desk system
Pros?
Maximizes office space
Utilizes the dead space
in the existing desk format
Step 3
BRANCH
MY DESIGN DIRECTION
Ultimately, I decided that the desk clamp was my strongest solution because it
provided employees with convenient storage with without blocking the sight lines
of the room. I reviewed each of the sketches with Poppin and they loved the
simple hook solution too!
COMPETITIVE RESEARCH
#workupwards
Currently, Poppin only provides
employees with storage on top or
underneath their workspace. I
really wanted to do something
different by exploring vertical
storage. I began researching simple
products and mechanisms that
creatively utilized the limited real
estate of office environments.
NEXT STEP
Pencil To Prototype
In order to really know if my desk clamp concept was going to be successful, I needed
to create some physical prototypes to test out different clamping mechanism and to
help me judge the clamp’s visual presence in an office space.
