Design Matters

Last week Richard Sapper and Tomoyuki Takahashi were in Raleigh working on the next generation ThinkPad design strategy with my team. This is exactly how Kodachi was born. We spent days reviewing highly detailed concept models carried through customs by Tom, sharing ideas, making quick study models, and debating next steps. The team never ceases to amaze me with their quantity of design models and fresh ideas.

It’s rare that a designer can take time to glance in the rear view mirror. The view always seems more compelling when imagining the future, but Kodachi is so significant that we had to celebrate the milestone. We took some time away from the packed agenda to create a short film with Sapper sharing his thoughts on design and the X300. I thought you would enjoy seeing it on the day of the official product announcement. Cheers!

David Hill

The Lenovo design and engineering team has been working on this one for well over a year. It started out as a idea: let’s build the most advanced ThinkPad ever, in the thinnest and lightest package possible. What a great opportunity to exercise the world class technical capabilities of the Lenovo team. The best engineers and designers thrive on challenges like this. Who wouldn’t?

I was fortunate to have met Steve Hamm from BusinessWeek magazine early in the process and shared with him several design concepts that we were working on. Steve was so interested in the work we were doing that he asked to become a “fly on the wall” for the entire development cycle. Wow. A journalist integrated into the Lenovo inner workings was a totally new idea with lots potential reward, but also risk. After a few interesting discussions we decided to bring him into the fray.

Yesterday the article resulting from this endeavour went live on the BusinessWeek website. Steve tells the story much better there than I could ever do. I hope you enjoy the peek behind the curtain into the development of what I believe is the best ThinkPad we have ever made. We are one giant step closer to perfect.

David Hill

Over 25 years ago I was working at a design consulting firm eager to test my skills in the real design world. I was more than willing to challenge the status quo and elevate the design quality for every project I could get my hands on. I had dreams of changing the world one design at a time. I was stopped dead in my tracks, however, when our office took on a new client that specialized in creating hearses. Thats right, hearses. To me this was one of the most ridiculous projects we could ever have been asked to apply design horsepower to. I immediately was asked by the VP of the firm to create about a dozen or so concepts for a client review the following week. Now what was I going to do?

I decided the most ethical approach was to protest the entire project by creating the most ridiculous concept ever . A pure joke. I immediately drew a side view illustration of a hearse sporting a stainless steel targa band right off a Porsche 911.

What I failed to consider was how poorly armed most people are to make fundamental design decisions. The CEO of the hearse company loved the idea and rushed it to market. For them it was a totally new look and had the added benefit of hiding a pesky weld seam. Didn’t he understand how ridiculous it was to suggest speed or sportiness for a hearse?

For me the lesson learned was simple. Never show a client an idea that you are not truly comfortable with, even if it is a joke. To my dismay the targa banded hearse has since been propagated across the entire industry. I think I’ll pass.

David Hill

I’m sure everyone has heard the adage “you can never be too thin”. This seems to hold true not only for the human body but many other things, including notebook computers. Actual thinness,  or the illusion of being thin,  has a tremendous power to change people’s impression of nearly anything. The architect I. M. Pei has often used knife edge details to to create a powerful and dramatic impression. The east wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. is one of my personal favorites. In certain views the building appears to be a paper thin sheet of perfectly quarried stone.

For years we have used a chamfer detail on the front edge of ThinkPad to not only make them appear thinner, but also easier to pick up. The ThinkPad 600 was the first to use this detail. Interestingly enough, I just read another blog on this topic referencing ThinkPad and other examples. It’s interesting to me that people have noticed design details like this.

David Hill