Desck

Web App
2023

Focusing on making use of the empty spaces in offices caused by the Work-From-Home era, Desck helps companies with long leases, and owned offices rent out their empty desks, offices and meeting rooms to help subside businesses' property overheads, and provide affordable spaces for remote workers to hold ad-hoc meetings or co-working spaces.
Problem

→ Many office spaces are now left empty due to the Work-From-Home uptick, and as a result many office leaseholders and landlords are left with unused property.

→ Despite the move to WFH/Remote, there's still circumstances where an office is required, e.g. in person meetings.

Approach

→ By utilising the empty space, Desck conceptualised an AirBNB premise, but for short, long and micro terms to suit ad-hoc office spaces, and meeting rooms

→ While I was paid to design this platform, at the core of the company, they hadn't done adequate research to find the product didn't have significant lifespan - most potential users said their lease had no more than 5 years left, and they would not be renewing their lease at the end - if there are no leases to subsidise, the product makes no sense.

→ I presented this data (from a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis) to the market, and the founders decided they would no longer go forward with the project.

Solution (or not)

→ In short, the project was put on hold indefinitely, but was a good reminder that research is key, but also good experience in managing stakeholders relations. I'm partly sorry that I presented the data, but glad I could point this out before significant investment was made.

Role

Website Design
Brand Design

Desck "product page".

The Context

As desk-based companies move to WFH setups, there are a lot of office leases currently being left empty or used at a minimal capacity, but still being paid for. However, there is still a use for these spaces - not everything can be done over Zoom, and some companies and people love the idea of in person collaboration.

Designing with Familiarity

Because of its similarity, we worked on a similar UI, following AirBNB’s patterns. Because this was for an MVP design, we were designing quickly to have a product ready, rather than spending time on research. AirBNB is a great platform to reappropriate since the concepts are very much in the same vein.

Offering both a map and list view allows users to find the approximate location of the Desck.
Robbie Broome is a product designer based in New York City, passionate about the intersection of brand and usability.
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