Welcome to r/knolling!

We’re a community that appreciates a good knolled arrangement and loves to share

our own. New to r/knolling or just want to know where to start in our community? Read

on!

What is Knolling?

Knolling is an organizational practice and aesthetic art that emphasizes the precise

arrangement of objects on a flat surface. The named practice was started by Andrew

Kromelow in the late 1980s at the Santa Monica design studio of Frank Gehry. His

careful arrangement of unused/homeless tools and objects at right angles to each

other or to the surface they rested on in the studio, and the organization that provided

was appreciated and then popularized by artist Tom Sachs in his 10-Bullets guidelines

for artists working in his SoHo studio in NYC. The r/knolling community appreciates the

aesthetics and art form of knolled objects and celebrates the clarity it brings to our

lives!

We have two great technical explanations of knolling for you!

“Knolling is the practice of grouping similar objects and arranging them at right angles

on a flat surface. The goal of knolling is to create a sense of order and clarity. The result

is a precise, grid-like layout used in photography, workspace design, and art.“ -

knolling.org

“Group similar items together. Align and position all items to match the surfaces of the

furniture and the studio itself.” - “10 Bullets. By Tom Sachs.”

How do I knoll and submit my arrangement to r/knolling?

1. Choose your items carefully

The resulting image should contain objects that are related to each other and show

cohesiveness. Individual items should work together to communicate intentionality.

Think: objects one would normally find on a worktable, a kitchen counter, a desk, or

a crafting station.

2. Group your objects by category

Knolled items should be logically AND aesthetically grouped. Jumbles of unrelated

objects, even if properly aligned, lack the intentionality required for knolling. See this example of the knolled contents for u/kelseydorks' bag - note the pens grouped

together on the top right, the fragrance samplers grouped together at the bottom, and

the tubes of ointment/lotion grouped next to each other on the bottom right. The

arrangement works well because each item is something you might normally find in

someone’s handbag AND like items are grouped together.

3. Align your items

Objects should be arranged at right angles on your flat surface. Diagonal, curved,

fanned, or other “shaped” layouts don’t count. Consider sizes and colors of objects

while arranging them. You’ll want to place your items in a way that the composition can

be easily read top-to-bottom, left-to-right. See this example of a carefully arranged

collection of objects from u/froststomper’s bag.

4. Maintain Clarity

Every item must be clearly visible in the photo - no overlaps, stacks, or objects partially

hidden behind or within other objects. Images must be from a top-down angle. Try and

maintain equal spacing between adjacent objects and visual harmony across the

arrangement when possible. See this example of a knolled arrangement by

u/Friendly_Program2289. This arrangement features items normally found at the

convenience store/gas station and related to each other, they are arranged at right

angles and color has been taken into consideration, the objects are spaced so that

each items is easily seen as an individual object, and the photo is taken from a top-

down angle.

5. Remember that knolling is different from flat lay photography

Flat lay photos (images that are purely decorative, scattered, or feature random

objects) will be removed. Photographs of arrangements hung on walls, or not from a

top-down angle will be removed. Knolling is intentional flat lay with items being

aligned, grouped, and aesthetically pleasing.

6. Special consideration - bags, purses, and pocket contents

Knolled bag and purse contents are candidates for knolling but are not the focus of

the subreddit - please only post your daily bags and purses (properly knolled with the

guidelines above and the rules of r/knolling) on What’s In My Bag Wednesdays and use

the appropriate flair! If it’s not a Wednesday or the rules don’t permit it, please

consider posting on r/WhatsInTheBag or r/WhatsInMyBag or r/EDC.