Designer Spotlight – Brain Graham

Let’s Put the Walls to Work.

Brain Graham, Brain Graham Design

Designer of WORK|ABLE for Kimball

San Francisco / California

Designer. Advocate. Advisor. Brian Graham offers a strategic approach in the design, development, and marketing of workplace furniture. Graham’s design solutions have been recognized by the most prestigious organizations in the U.S., including the American Institute of Architects (AIA), The Institute of Business Designers, The International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture & Design, The International Facilities Management Association, and The Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA).

With materials like pegboard,  chalkboard, and cork, the aesthetic  is simple and honest, yet effective  and progressive.

There are a lot less walls in the workplace today. With teams and workloads continuing to  grow, we’re being challenged to maximize every inch of space Now, more than ever, the  walls and surfaces need to do more “to earn their place”.

San Francisco designer, Brian Graham, partnered with Kimball to create a solution that  leverages the wall and makes it as functional as it can be.

As real estate continues to shrink, smaller enclaves and tight spaces  are becoming incredibly valuable  With the increasing importance  of open-plan environments,  Work|Able creates the ability to  take a wall or space that once wasn’t utilized and give it purpose.

“I am very excited about Work|Able being applied in so many different  scenarios,” Graham explained  “From something as intimate as making the space between  your worksurface and your  overhead a lot more functional,  to allowing your opposite wall to  grow in scale The possibilities  are endless with this solution ”

Work|Able also reflects a broader array of visual expressions  With materials like pegboard,  chalkboard, and cork, the  aesthetic is simple and honest,  yet effective and progressive.

“One of the things we wanted to do with Work|Able was to increase  the range of expression,” Graham  added “I wanted to create  something that a designer can tailor to a corporate look, as well as a contemporary or progressive  look I want them to think of it as a kit of parts that can be  used over and over on different  projects by dialing the look and  the feel up or down depending  on what the expression is ”

Brian is noticing a more direct materiality coming forward and  less of the “hide the hardware” theme Work|Able addresses that  by making the placement of the power and data components very direct Let’s put the outlet there. Let’s plug in the cord. There’s no guesswork, it’s right there in front of you.

As an interior designer who evolved into a furniture designer,  visual reference material is really important to Brian. He wants things around him that  he can refer to quickly and gain  inspiration This philosophy  carried over into his design of Work|Able by incorporating tools  to display reference material in a direct, non-precious way.

This type of flexibility, combined with the honest design of  Work|Able, creates a unique  aesthetic for a fully functional  solution that integrates  seamlessly into any space.