Design Matters

We recently introduced an innovative accessory that expands portable storage while enhancing data security for ThinkPad fans. My team really enjoys designing these kind of accessories. It gives them a chance to imagine how to connect ThinkPad design DNA to a product that often is highly unique and allows us to enhance the ThinkPad user experience. We have done designs for ThinkPad external keyboards, travel mice, and carry cases in the past. Yes they are black with a small red accent, but we strive to give them all a innovative twist that drives desire.

The design challenge for the ThinkPad USB Portable Secure Hard Drive, I prefer to call it “the vault,” was to create an object that linked to the ThinkPad design essence but also embodied the appropriate design solution for such a critical product. We wanted it to look simple, solid, and of course ultra secure. I think we achieved that goal. One review I read recently remarked that using it “will make you look, feel more important than you are” and that it would be handy for you always on-the-go, James Bond types. Sure Bond wants one, but so do I. I can close my eyes and imagine pulling this one out of the glovebox of my Aston Martin (If only I had one) in order to thwart yet another sinister plot to take over the world. ThinkPad is so “on-brand” for this mission.

Even a design so seemingly simple as this one requires a great deal of analysis, concept generation, modeling, refinement and of course design thinking to create. The initial studies focused on developing a simple and pure form that featured a deliberate and nearly militaristic keypad design. We also wanted to create a way to store and hide the USB cable when not in use, in order to preserve the simplicity of execution. I feel a bit like “Q” when I write this stuff. Sketches and rough study models were created to study the form as well as keypad layout and key shapes. Here are a few of the “unclassified” models and sketches from the lab that led to the final design.

The final design is a pure rectangular form with a no-frills, asymmetrically placed keypad. Spots of color reinforce the significance of the code entry and cancel keys. The keys themselves are slightly recessed to protect them from accidental use and are slightly domed. They pay tribute to my old Braun calculator designed by Dieter Rams. We offer both 160GB and 320GB models that use 128-bit encryption to ensure your data can’t be unscrambled by the enemy. The drives can store up to 10 separate user ID’s with 10 different security keys. The entire device neatly stores in a neoprene slipcase that reminds me of 007’s wetsuit. Remember the time he wore one to keep his perfectly pressed tuxedo dry in Goldfinger? Up until now encrypting and decrypting your data was never quite so full of intrigue.

David Hill

Steve Hamm’s new book The Race for Perfect is finally released. The book builds and expands on the cover story BusinessWeek Magazine article that Steve co-authored about the design and development of the Lenovo ThinkPad X300.  I finally managed to carve out enough time to read my copy of the book. Unfortunately it’s been hard for me to squeeze in reading something other than e-mails lately. The book did not disappoint me, it’s both entertaining and an accurate portrayal of the Kodachi story.  It also goes beyond the X300 story to include a detailed history of portable computing. Yes, there was life before ThinkPad.

Of course I instantly scanned the index looking for Kodachi references and possible embarrassing David Hill quotes. After all, I did interviews on a monthly basis with Steve for well over a year and a half. Who knows what I might have told him in the heat of passion that ended up in print. I am pleased to report that Steve did a great job protecting me from myself, and more importantly telling a great story. I may have a bit of “cultural backwater” explaining to do the next time I head back to my hometown Bartlesville, Oklahoma, but the portrayal is certainly not without substance. Sorry but you will have to read the book to totally understand this reference. For the “backwater” record, Bartlesville is the home of the Price Tower, the only true skyscraper ever designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, but I must admit that cultural milestone was a very long time ago in Bartlesville history.

In my opinion Steve has written a great book. It’s a very informative chronicle of portable computing and the rich technology and design history that accompanies it. His writing style is engaging and the story is easy to follow. The early history of how ThinkPad was born is still fascinating to me. Congrats to my friends Richard Sapper for his design  vision and Tom Hardy for his corporate perseverance. It was truly a pleasure working with Steve on this historic endeavour. My sincere congratulations to him for this accomplishment. I recommend that all fans of portable computing and especially ThinkPad design enthusiasts check it out. This one is a must read.

As Steve points out in his book , the race for perfect is never really over. We continue to strive to create the ultimate ThinkPad.  Who knows, maybe Steve is already working on his next book.

David Hill

It’s that time of year again. World Usability Day 2008.

PhotoViolationMeter

This year’s theme is transportation. Related to that, a design blog I frequent regularly came across an interesting report:

And while browsing some of this, I found this interesting research report from the UX Alliance on Parking Meters around the world, with a focus on their ease (or not) of operation. Turns out that “… no two parking meters … are completely the same and that the complexity of operating the parking meters varies considerably. There is a world of difference between the auto-detecting parking meter in Tokyo and the complex and error-prone parking ticket dispenser in Amsterdam.”

David Hill

I blogged a few months ago about our how we are using the “Design of the Week” to fuel design inspiration within my team. It works. We continue to bring things into the office and share once a week with the whole team. Following up on that idea we have now introduced another way to gain inspiration. I call it the “Design Outing.”  In kindergarten this would have been called a field trip. I guess there is some truth in the statement “all I need to really need to know I learned in kindergarten.” We recently embarked on the inaugural outing to see Vollis Simpson and his famed whirligig farm.

If you aren’t familiar with Vollis, you should be. Mr. Simpson, now 89, has often be described as the wizard of the whirligig and is generally regarded as the American master of this unique kinetic folk art. A self taught artist, Simpson started creating monumental kinetic sculptures out of found objects when he retired in 1985. Recycling discarded parts from cars, trucks, bicycles, farm machinery, street lights and highway signs, Simpson’s whirligigs transform cast-off everyday objects and industrial materials into whimsical, dancing, spinning machines whole sole purpose is visual impact. His work has appeared in numerous museums such as the North Carolina Museum of Art. One of his larger whirligigs is even installed in Russia. His unique work has also been highlighted in television, magazine and web features. Vollis was commissioned to create four whirligigs for the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta. These gigantic pieces of folk art stood over 40 feet tall. He lives and works just about an hour outside of Raleigh near a small town called Lucama.

We arrived at the farm around 2:00 in the afternoon and were greeted by Vollis as he slowly appeared from behind a pile of scrap metal blocking the view to his shop. He is a wonderful man; polite, entertaining and wildly creative. The stories about his beginnings, life, and politics began flowing as he guided us toward his shop. He creates his whirligigs on what is effectively the front porch behind a wall of what would appear to most as scrap metal and cast off junk. To him this is the raw material for his next masterpiece. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Behind his work area are a set of wooden sliding barn doors that conceal the contents within. Vollis, with an innate sense of drama, slowly slides open the doors revealing hundreds of whirligigs visible by the light of a few well placed bare light bulbs. The feeling is magical. Brightly colored whirligigs of all sizes, shapes, and design fill the space like a toy store. My design team was wide-eyed as they walked through the space asking Vollis questions about his work. It was great.

After the shop tour we headed across the street to the farm field where you can see the largest whirligigs imaginable. Some are so large that Vollis recently tied them off during a tornado warning for fear of them spinning wildly out of control.

The wind was perfect on the day we visited allowing the whirligigs to perform their magic. The clanking, whirring, and jingle sounds all added to the experience. I for one have never seen anything like it. By the end of the visit we had purchased a whirligig for the design studio, I bought one for my office, and several others bought them for their homes. Vollis carefully signed each as the group watched diligently.

The team’s verdict was that this was a great experience and exceeded expectations. I think the biggest issue my team faces now is what do we do for an encore?

You can view the full Vollis photos here.

David Hill