The Modern Desk Accessories You Need to Own

Pfeiffer and his team spent time in the field observing ergonomic problems, organizational challenges, and storage issues in offices. "We observed a lot of solutions from users like reams of paper used to raise monitors, coffee cups for storage, phones hiding under papers, and lots of small desktop piles," Pfeiffer says. "We saw these moments as opportunities to bring clarity to the desktop landscape in a more considered fashion." The pieces are made from solid walnut, bent plywood, and soft-touch plastic—materials with warm characteristics. "The wood creates a nice contrast to the aluminum you find in many devices while the soft-touch plastic gives the vessels an unexpected texture when touched," Pfeiffer says. "With each material it was critical to do things at the highest quality possible to insure the longevity of each item."

Most desk sets have trays for writing implements and coordinating staplers, rulers, scissors, and items for the paper world. The Evernote line is tailored to the electronic world. The tablet stand ($50), for example, boasts a niche for hearphones, a rest for a stylus, and a channel through which to funnel a charger.

The slotted cup ($25) has a place to stow a smartphone along with traditional items like pens and Post-Its. "Workspaces have changed to be more open—a lot less privacy and a bigger emphasis on communal-use spaces," Pfeiffer says. "The desktop and where you physically work still needs objects that both impart personality and comfort and also create order. The Pfeiffer Collection creates order for the desktop, but also recognizes the need to be modular and accommodate the way we work today. I believe people looking for desktop objects that work well together, work well with their particular office environment, and with the devices and tools they use. We think the Pfeiffer Collection accomplishes this."

The most challenging aspect of the design was bringing together the wood and plastic, Pfeiffer says. "The intersection of these two dissimilar materials requires tight tolerances between two materials that move at very differently rates. It took some time to getting this right!" The cup on the Catch All Tray ($45) can be used atop the tray or removed to reveal a spot to corral smaller items.

The collection also comes in an all plastic version with vibrant bases. The Evernote collabotation wasn't Pfeiffer's first rodeo: he's designed a handful of desk accessoies, like the Rhombins and Wood Whale. "Working on the desktop allows us the opportunity to be a bit more experimental in exploring new solutions and materials," he says. "It’s not always easier working at this small scale, but there is a certain level of experimentation that becomes harder and more complex to achieve once you jump up in scale. It's also exciting to work on the desktop because many of these small design gestures inform our work at the larger scale."