Task: Develop a modern design for a control desk with several important constraints: very tight deadlines covering the entire project from design to installation; the desktop had to be monolithic. In addition, once the contract was signed, it was necessary to oversee production, delivery, and installation.
Solution: Under such strict timing, we optimized the project at every key stage — from processing the client’s request to final delivery and assembly.
That is why we made full use of an excellent tool — generating draft visuals through the Midjourney neural network. This approach allowed us to reduce the critical path from client request to contract signing by a factor of three. Naturally, the tool did not replace the designer, especially in areas where the AI had no reference points. But using it for rough design trials and narrowing the client’s abstract request down to something tangible made our work more precise, required fewer resources, and enriched the final product with important details.
For the monolithic tabletop, we initially considered marmoleum, but eventually decided on Hanex artificial stone from Hyundai. With proper bonding and polishing, this material achieves flawless surfaces without seams or gaps.
Although artificial stone is not widely favored by professional furniture makers — it is heavy and requires equipment closer to that used for MDF, HPL, or chipboard — it has a clear advantage over metal: thermoforming and the ability to create complex angles and surfaces. That is why, as the visual concept developed, we decided to make the desk entirely from plastic. The client approved the idea, and we moved forward.
I mention the tight deadlines because, in this project, for the first time I had to think not only about parallelizing our own processes but also those of the client. The desk had to house two consoles with control elements for the blast furnace. Normally, wiring and panel installation would be handled by another contractor after we delivered the desk. Instead, we prepared mounting stands, fixed the consoles to them, and positioned them precisely above the floor cable channels. As a result, the low-voltage wiring process ran in parallel, cutting the overall readiness time of the facility by two to three weeks. At the installation stage, we wrapped the stands with plastic elements and assembled the desk as a whole.
This project became a new step for us in integrating design, engineering, and product management. It showed that even under strict deadlines, it is possible to create a solution that is both reliable and functional.
For the client, the result was a modern control desk — a practical tool for managing complex industrial processes.