1Nightstand was developed as a furniture concept for the up-and-coming brand APT2B. A nightstand designed for the age of Tinder, the final product was presented to a panel of judges from 5D Studios and Gensler Associates.
The Challenge
APT2B is an LA-based furniture company that aims to bring young, urban professionals "more style for less money."
These customers, however, are increasingly living in dense urban areas where space is at a premium. The company is looking to produce a nightstand that will address the desire for more flexible furniture footprints, as well as the unique lifestyle needs of its millennial customer base.
Understanding the Brand
INSIGHT: Apt2B's brand is consistently masculine, humorous, and borderline risqué.
OPPORTUNITY: Apt2B should develop a nightstand as bold and provocative as its brand personality. A piece meeting this description could garner press coverage that would increase brand awareness and lead to increased sales throughout the product portfolio.
Understanding the User
In booming urban centers like New York, LA, and San Francisco, people like Josh are becoming more and more common.
In fact, more Americans than ever before are living as singles in dense cities, and their spending power is in excess of $1.9 trillion per year.
Still, my research and interviews showed that furniture consumers like Josh had 3 major concerns in an era of high rents and intermittent cohabitation.
INSIGHT: Urban millennials want the flexibility to have a single nightstand most of the time, but regret not having a spare when a significant other or "hookup" spends the night.
OPPORTUNITY: A nightstand that separates into two functional pieces when the user has "company."
The Design Process
After a long period of ideation and sketching, I converged on the idea of an interlocking 2-in-1 nightstand to solve the problems identified in the research phase.
The next step was to make a scale model of the design, with an eye on construction methods, proportion, and materials.
1Nightstand
The 1Nightstand begins as a single unit. Its interlocking shapes create new storage spaces.
The result is two nightstands - one for the owner, and one for the guest.
When a guest arrives to spend the night, the two pieces slide apart smoothly.
A discrete magnetic drawer makes sure that personal items stay personal.
