3d shelf cutout

Folded down or flipped up, there is no mistaking what this matte black, punched-metal product was made for … in black or white, facing forward, or even from a worms-eye view via the floor below. It’s all right there, literally in bold type.

“Typeshelf” by designer Ufuk Keskin is a fun play on words, bringing the art of typography together with industrial design and home decor in an unusual form. Its brilliance is in its simplicity and the tongue-in-cheek nature of using the word “shelf” as a shelf.

optical illusion typeshelf

“Typeshelf brings typography into product design by using the word as the object. 2D cut out letters on stainless steel are bent along the perforations at the bottom to form the ‘shelf’. The material characteristics of steel provides a sturdy platform for books etc. without requiring additional hardware.”

3D shelf design

36-1 (aka 35 Creative Works) strives in this and other pieces for creative, aha-moment simplicity. In this cases, minimal energy and materials (as well as portable, flat-pack form) are required to make the design work, and customization is more easily possible for those who wish their shelving to speak along other lines. What words would you substitute for “shelf” if you designed one yourself?

Shelf font design

“Ufuk is a New York City based multi-disciplinary design professional who is passionate about meaningful innovation and human centric design. He currently works for Marriott International, the largest hotel company globally – driving innovation and design thinking within Global Design Group. Prior to that he had privilege to work with some of world’s leading brands including Google, Delta, Absolut Vodka, AMC’S Breaking Bad. He is founder of a startup brand, Thirtyfive Creative Works for which he designs, manufactures and markets homeware products.”

“Ufuk has been writing for Istanbul based Architecture and Design Magazine XXI and his work have been featured in leading publications including Fast Company, Manhattan Magazine, Designboom. “