Project Description

The Universal Panel Mount was developed in response to Humanscale®’s need for a unique mount design capable of attaching their task lighting to various manufacturers’ office panel systems. At that time, Humanscale had been producing 19 different panel mounts compatible with its Element and Diffrient task lighting lines. After brainstorming for a solution and testing multiple concepts, our team of designers and engineers were able to create a design of the mount that was versatile enough to eliminate most of Humanscale’s unique mounts.

Once we had a promising concept, we created a prototype in order to test it. We visited various showrooms of Philadelphia area furniture dealers and tested the prototype on all existing panel systems. Through this testing we were able to confirm that the prototype functioned as intended. The Universal Panel Mount was able to fit into 16 different panel systems, dropping the number of unique panel mounts Humanscale needed to produce from 19 to only 3. We also found that the new mount design fit into even more systems, which Humanscale had not previously had a mounting solution for.

After validating the concept’s function, we revisited the aesthetic design in order to reduce the size and make the form more minimalistic. We developed full documentation during these revisions in order to allow Humanscale to quote the product in its supply chain, expediting the development process. After the design, function and cost were approved for tooling the product, we evaluated and tested the product during tool trials, making minor revisions for fit as well as improving molding conditions. We also developed an image based instruction manual that could be used for any language during tool trials. The tool trialing and pilot run were both successful, and the Universal Panel Mount was approved for production. Today the Universal Panel Mount is Humanscale’s most versatile solution for mounting their task lights to a variety of office panel systems.