The Studio Pad took us on quite a design journey, from debates about container design thery to the challenges of createing a minimal sand that's over three feet long. Come behind the scenes and get to knwo thes lastest addition to our workspace lineup a little better.

The layered design update to our mouse pad.

Consider the River

There's a ribbon of space between your monitro and your keyboard area - it's premium desk real estate - things find a way to accumuate there. We starterd calling this area "The River", and we were interested in designing products to make that space more intentional part of your desk.

Setting the Stage

The process started in 2015, when we designed our wool desk pad. The idea was to do several things at your desk: protect the surface, define the space like an area rug, and slide around, so that you could use it to organize and move your space depending on your work. It was all about the material, and we landed on 100% Merino wool felt, a classic material that's included in many of our products.

Then in 2018 we kicked off a redesign of our classic mouse pad. The mouse pad was designed in 2014 as part of our first desk collection, and we wanted to modernize and improve the design manufacturability.

SEAN KELLY (Lead Designer): Because we design and manufacture so much, you learn and have a natural give and take between product design and manufacturability. The original mouse pad design started presenting hurdles, so we used it as an opportunity to try something new with a full-width aluminum base.

The new mouse pad was a hit, and we loved the process and result. It got us thinking— could we do something similar in a larger size? Could we use the same combinations of materials and bends? The mental seeds were set.