This foldable, lightweight ergonomic stand is an innovative way to support books and documents during study. It’s ideal for students and anyone else who looks at lots of documents, particularly next to the computer. The elegantly simple one-piece Bookarrest comes in two versions: Basic, for students, and Pro, for design-discerning professionals. Its stylish, high-tech material can be printed on for advertising and aesthetic purposes.
Englishman Robert Pachowski studied fine art and sculpture at Bath Academy of Art. Bookarrest is his first commercial product. Helping his son with his homework, the model maker and special effects creator got worried. He saw that his son was reading too closely and with poor posture. He was inspired to design Bookarrest to preserve his son’s eyesight.
“I want to depart from the image of the book rest as an archaic, quirky object associated with the aged or incapacitated,” says Pachowski. He hopes his design will help keep young people from developing nearsightedness – a growing problem worldwide. In Japan, two thirds of teenagers are nearsighted. “I believe myopia is related to a state of mind, and that this underlies the prevalent ‘myopic’ view of the world and our future,” he says.
A group of final-year students at Rotterdam University carried out a market research study on Bookarrest. The participants were enthusiastic – 250 students and teachers opted to keep their Bookarrests. “Most young people readily understand its purpose and describe it as cool,” says Robert, “or kakkoii, as a Japanese illustrator said.”
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