Design Matters

The net gen has significant influence on the world of technology and design

People have been talking about the generation gap for many years. I remember my parents telling my sister to turn down her record player like it was yesterday.  Herman’s Hermits, the Beatles, and other British bands had clearly invaded more than America, they invaded the Hill household. My sister’s love of the Beatles was mystifying to my dad. Music was Mozart, not mop tops with odd collarless suits and crazed women fainting at the sight of a guy named Ringo. Decades later, it turns out that both my dad and sister knew what was special in the world of music, but at the time, the generation gap was very real.

Portable music technology and design circa 1965

Today, the generation gap continues, but it seems to have stretched even wider due to the rapid changes in technology. I didn’t own my first personal computer until I was in my late 30’s. My children, on the other hand, were nearly born with them. The generation I am talking about  is often refered to as Generation Y, the Millennial Generation, Generation Next or the Net Gen.  This group is marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies. They don’t fear new technology, they just think it’s too slow. They rarely use email, and probably have no idea what a stamp costs or that you used to lick them.

I just read an interesting article published by Beloit College about what they call the Annual College Mindset List. They have published this fascinating and entertaining list since 1998. Here is an excerpt from the introduction to this years class of 2014 list:

The class of 2014 has never found Korean-made cars unusual on the Interstate and five hundred cable channels, of which they will watch a handful, have always been the norm. Since “digital” has always been in the cultural DNA, they’ve never written in cursive and with cell phones to tell them the time, there is no need for a wrist watch. Dirty Harry (who’s that?) is to them a great Hollywood director.

The Beloit College list helps us to put into context the “mindset” of this latest generation. The list provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall.

I wonder what coiled phone cord manufacturers are doing now?

Here are three of my favorites from this years list:

They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone.

They’ve never recognized that pointing to their wrists was a request for the time of day.

Nirvana is on the classic oldies station.

All of this is important because it helps to put the designer in the mindset of the latest generation of customers and technology critics. Do they care about the SysRq key, or would they prefer a Skype optimized camera ? Is it about the latest colors, or authenticity of materials? How does the environmentally responsible factor play out for a generation who never bought a hamburger in a styrofoam clamshell?  Designers always need to have a view on what’s next. What better way to study where we are going, than to understand who is leading the way.

David Hill

Alluring design, or best kept in the tackle box ?

Lately there seems to be two schools of thought concerning the design of notebook computers. One is the modernist approach of simplification, proportion, quality materials, authenticity of form, and an aesthetic that supports rather than dominates your world. Dieter Rams, of Braun fame, has talked often about this minimalist approach.  In his 1985 “ten commandments” of design, this ideal of recessive aesthetics is clearly referenced.

“Good design is as little design as possible” Dieter Rams

Ten Commandments of Design:

Rams’ design work has dominated the minds of generations of designers who admired and sought to emulate the purity of expression that he achieved during his productive and successful career at Braun. I certainly was, and continue to be,  one of them. As a entry level designer fresh out of college, I often wondered how he was able to convince people to make products so devoid of ornamentation and superfluous doo dads. Where was the traditional gold trim, blinking lights, cursive “stereophonic” lettering and fake wood grain? To some, his models must have looked like the engineering  prototype that was crying out for some design help. Rams, however, changed the face of design thinking and created some of the most successful products in history. Rams has often been called the designer’s designer. It fits.Interestingly, his influence is far from over. His legacy lives on in a design ethos that has been copied by many throughout the years. Apple has often been accused of taking Rams emulation to historic levels.

Contrast this historic Braun consumer electronics design with most of the era

Genuine simulated wood grain

The other school of thought is the antithesis of these ideas. It celebrates the “more is more” design mantra with what I am calling ” fishing lure syndrome”. Just like attracting a fish into biting the hook, these designs are about creating an immediate reaction. You just can’t help but notice it. It’s about turning heads with surface embellishment, often irrational shapes, flashy colors and swirly whirly patterns that sometimes make me feel dizzy. Many times they look as though they were designed to be aerodynamic objects intended to fly through space at warp speed. Much to Rams’ chagrin, fishing lure design is about “as much design as possible”. There goes the 10th commandment. Computer store shelves are full of this type of design. Each manufacturer is desperately trying to outdo the other with new surface treatments or molding techniques, hoping to draw you closer to the hook. Don’t let the big one get away.

Remind you of anything?

The question is simple. Which school of thought is right.? Do people want minimalist designs that soothe the soul and stress subtle perfection of execution, or do they want to make a flashy statement about themselves and their newly purchased technology marvel. As with any such debate, it’s always possible the answer lies somewhere in the middle.  We should always recognize, however, that it’s very hard to create something truly special when you aim for the middle.

David Hill

Maybe I should have said better taste, less filling.

If you’re a frequent Design Matters reader, you probably noticed the new design we rolled out yesterday. It’s been 4 years since we first launched Design Matters as Lenovo’s first blog. It’s hard to member exactly what other things we were working on way back in 2006. It’s been a great experience for me. I’ve learned a lot about social media, and certainly have grown as a blogger,  but the design of the blog has never changed. I participated highly in the original design to ensure it had the right look and feel out of the gate. I knew that future readers would be very interested in ThinkPad and what made design tick at Lenovo. The blog design needed to connect to that audience. In retrospect, I think we did a good job, but it’s hard to not reach for improvements. Designers just can’t stop designing.

The new design adds some important social media links and usability features to a new comments bar. It’s now very easy to share a blog either with Twitter or Facebook and stay connected with your followers and friends. Bookmarking a favorite blog for future reference is a simple click away. You can also finally print a specific  blog without burning up your printer with a zillion unwanted pages. This has driven me crazy since the beginning.

I love the tiny icons on the comment bar that help you select what you want to accomplish

The right hand column now includes thumbnail images related to past posts, my Twitter feed, and the Lenovo Youtube and Picasa feeds. These are very useful for keeping aware of what Lenovo is serving up in the digital world. My Tweets are primarily about what I call the  #designoftheday or new blog postings. I rarely have much else to say on Twitter.

We also updated the appearance to visually tie all the blogs together via a synergistic design thread. Originally the mastheads had been created one off  as needed basis. We finally got the time to step back, take a deep breath, and rethink them all at once. It’s important to rethink things every so often in the context of the big picture. The new mastheads have consistant typography, color palette and medium grey thematic imagery.  Spots of color punch up the overall look.

Sampling of a few of the new masthead designs currently in use, more are coming

I really like the nerd glasses metaphor for Matt Kohut’s blog, Inside the Box. It just seems to fit with the “computer enthusiast” moniker. Does anyone else remember the classic Are you a nurd? poster published by National Lampoon in the early 80’s?  No offense Matt, we still love you.

Hope you enjoy the changes we made. Let me know if you have suggestions on how to make it even better.

David Hill

I recently made a short video describing how, and why, we created the texture for our latest ThinkPad touchpads. I wrote a detailed blog on this topic a few months ago. I hope you enjoy this behind the scenes look at the inspiration and detailed thought that goes into a Thinkpad.

David Hill

Today is World Industrial Design Day. Industrial designers from around the globe should be celebrating in the streets. Seriously, it’s great to see the focus on using design talent for such important causes. Here are the details directly from the ICSID website:

In celebration of World Industrial Design Day on 29 June 2010, the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) invites designers from around the globe to initiate events reflecting this year’s theme:

“Industrial Design: Humane solutions for a resilient world”

This topic was selected to facilitate collaboration within the industrial design community with the goal of producing tangible solutions to world problems.

“This theme stems from the immense response received from our recent ‘Uniting Designers in Disaster’ initiative launched on Facebook on 22 January in light of the disaster in Haiti and conveys the important role industrial design can play in global issues,” stated President Mark Breitenberg.

While the theme for WIDD 2010 calls on the design community to contribute their knowledge and skill, this day of observance is significant in fostering a global understanding of industrial design and all that it encompasses.

Lets hope we can make a design difference.

David Hill

Dairy farmer surveys his new IBM friends/neighbors in Rochester, Minnesota

Today was my 25th service anniversary working for IBM/Lenovo. Incredible how fast the time has flown by. It seems like only yesterday I attended the new employee orientation at IBM in Rochester, Minnesota. I’m pretty sure it was snowing. I’ve designed, or led the design of, nearly every type of computer imaginable, but it’s about much more than that.

I’ve been blessed throughout my career by being able to work with so many amazing people. They are my friends. We’ve always shared a common desire and passion to make the best designs imaginable. I am forever grateful to all of them for making my career and life so enjoyable. Cheers.

David Hill

If you are at all like me, you have more than one AC  adapter for your ThinkPad. To be honest, I think I probably have more than the total number of ThinkPad notebooks I have ever owned. That is a big number. Some people refer to these neccessities of technology as wall warts, I prefer to call them “bricks”. I have them strategically placed throughout my world. I have one in my garage, bedroom, kitchen, family room, backpack, car trunk and of course my conference room and office. There are actually three in my office alone. Whenever I get the chance I always plug in to ensure that when I go truly mobile I always have the fullest charge possible. I guess I would rather be safe than sorry. I do try to make a habit of unplugging them when I’m not using them to avoid needless power consumption. If you didn’t know, all AC adapters consume power even if they are only plugged into the wall outlet and not an electronic device.

I thought it would be interesting to poll my readers regarding how many AC adapters they currently have in use.

If you crave more power and always want to be prepared with maximum battery power, I suggest you arm yourself with more “bricks” here.

David Hill

Watch the video to see more about the design of the ThinkCentre M90z

We’ve been working on a really cool ThinkCentre all-in-one that will be announced in the very near future. Sorry I can’t give you an exact date. Like all good design, the journey starts and ends with the customer. Here is a sneak peek video about the final design and how we created it. Enjoy!

David Hill

The classic Stendig calendar is one of my favorites

It’s been five years since the monumental acquisition of IBM’s personal computer business by Lenovo. I can still remember the day it was announced. High powered IBMer’s were struggling to explain the deal with charts so complex that only the person who made the presentation could possibly decode the actual content. As only IBM can do, they made up inexplicable code names for the two companies to veil the true identities. Isle and Lanai, the actual code names, were embedded in all the charts explaining the deal details. Who in the world came up with that? It was complex enough without this added communications cloaking bonus. Some saw doom and gloom, I saw opportunity. We could finally bring to market some of the cool ideas we had been working on. I think I was right.

In honor of the 5th anniversary, I thought it would be interesting to poll Design Matters readers about their top 5 innovative ThinkPads since the Lenovo deal closed. Here is the list. Please cast your vote and add you comments.

Because that’s what color titanium is

What does your ThinkPad smell like?

No compromise and fits in an envelope 

The beauty is in the beast

I feel pretty

I have my views on this topic, I’m sure you have yours.

David

For many, the Lucigraph earned the nick name “Lazy Lucy”

Having worked in the design field for well over 25 years, I’ve seen many design tools come and go. When I first started my career most of the design work was done with devices and gizmos that many people today would not even recognize. Except of course for pencils and paper. It’s possible that most would not even be able to guess what many of these tools did. The stat camera, proportional wheel, pica rule, Lucigraph, ruling pen, waxer, rubylith film, color-aid paper, Acu-Arc, and of course the rotary lead pointer are just a few of the relics I remember from another era. There are hundreds more that I haven’t mentioned, or perhaps can’t recall so easily. In most cases the computer has replaced these historical tools with software applications that make the design process so much easier. Pointing and clicking is certainly a bit easier than running a waxer.

One thing, however, that has not been replaced is drawing. In my mind, drawing is an essential design tool that will never become obsolete. I’m talking about good old fashioned paper and pencil drawings. Nothing fancy here, just basic drawing. Man has made drawings like this since we lived in caves. Many are quite beautiful in their own right.

Lascaux cave drawings are both simple and beautiful

Years ago design drawings were created primarily to sway clients. They were tools to communicate to the design illiterate the fanciful concepts imagined by designers. They also created separation between those who understood and created art, and those who barely knew how to spell it. It was easy to dazzle a client with a spiffy sketch, or a detailed rendering. Unfortunately, the design often took a backseat to drawing technique. A spartan Dieter Rams design for Braun would never have won out in a all out rendering contest. Can you imagine a detailed rendering of a ThinkPad? Nothing more than a simple black box.

Although the talent, manual dexterity, and mastery of illustration techniques continues to impress me for full blown renderings, it’s design working drawings that interest me the most now. These are the drawings that tell the real story. Designers make them for themselves, not to impress others. They often contain notes, unresolved details, coffee stains, and mistakes. There is a certain spontaneity to them. The art of imperfection shines clear.

Wonderful working sketch by design master Dieter Rams

Richard Sapper working sketch for a flat panel based computer we designed together 

When I worked at a design consulting firm in Kansas, I collaborated with excellent designers who were also highly gifted in the art of drawing. Some were so skilled that their rough working sketches often were a little too good. They looked like finished work, not initial ideas. In the consulting business this was a problem. Clients were more than happy to take a rough concept and immediately turn it into a real product. Short cutting the total design process saved consulting fees for the clients, but cost the design firm revenue. In some cases this was such a big issue that all rough sketches had to be stamped with a “PRELIMINARY CONCEPT ONLY” disclaimer. Not sure how this stopped the problem, but it certainly looked good on paper. There is nothing like a rubber stamp to lend an air of authority to a drawing.

Rough sketch created by the late and infamous Kansas designer Robert Deines in 1972. Want to guess what it is?

Mike Meister’s best attempt at making a rough pencil sketch circa 1982. He’s still working at it today.

One of my more recent working sketches for ThinkPad controls. Look familiar?

I make simple working design sketches nearly every day of my life. They aren’t intended to wow clients, instead they help me solve design problems or communicate ideas. Back in the 80’s I got pretty good at making more polished renderings, thanks to Bob and Mike, but I really don’t need to make drawing like that anymore. I can still remember Bob giving me an extensive lecture on the best way to select the correct degree of an ellipse template, and Mike showing me what marker best rendered sky reflected in matte chrome. They were true masters of their craft. Today I prefer real full size 3D models to review and present design concepts. If a rendering is required, we use computers to create them. With the right software and designer at the helm the results are amazing. Okay, when compared to a hand created sketch they’re somewhat sterile, but that is a different topic.

I’m not about to surrender my pencil and paper. Drawing is part of my life and connected to how I think. If  Bob was still alive, he would complain a little about my perspective being “off” and Mike would still want to add a few well selected reflections, but I think they would both be proud.

David Hill