Design Matters

ThinkPad sleeve 

For years I’ve tried to find a nice simple sleeve for my ThinkPad. I like them because they offer very convenient protection for those trips where a traditional carry case and all the assorted compartments just aren’t needed. You would think that finding a simple sleeve design would be easy, but it isn’t. Most sleeves are offered in goofy colors or with ridiculous patterns smeared all over them. I wanted a sleeve that was truly ThinkPad worthy. I could never imagine pulling my ThinkPad out of a pink sleeve sporting some sort of daisy motif.  People would ask “what have you done with the real David Hill? ”

Something just doesn’t seem right about this

The hunt for sophisticated simplicity is finally over. We just released ThinkPad branded sleeves with an appropriate design. There is a 12″ and 15″ version . I’m already using one of the early samples for my machine. It has my full endorsement. I also plan on using these new ThinkPad sleeves to store our precious design models in. The models look so authentic that people treat them like the real thing. Tossing models around like they were built with mil-specs in mind just won’t work.  

I love the red interior accent

We decided to add a little visual zing to the design by making the interior TrackPoint red. We don’t do this on our traditional cases, but given the scale of the sleeve it seemed appropriate. I hope you like it.

David Hill

Family of ThinkPad cases

ThinkPad carry cases are a special kind of “software” design that my team supports. Forget pixels, icons, scrolling and clicking. This is more about fabric, straps, zippers and snaps. The design requirements and constraints for carry cases are also very different from the typical hardware or GUI project. By comparison lead times are quite short, very little tooling is required, and we don’t know exactly what will be on the inside. Obviously they must provide a nice place to hold and protect your ThinkPad, but everything else is up to the user. Part of our design process includes field testing of prototypes in order to gather user feedback and tune the designs.

 When I travel I usually have my airline tickets, passport, travel AC adapter, cell phone charger, digital camera, pad of paper, pens, pencils, business cards,tape measure, and of course my ThinkPad. I don’t carry much else in my case.  The trick for designing one of these is to allow for flexibility. If the compartments are too object specific they may not map to the users needs. It’s also important to choose materials that are both durable and useful. The interior of our cases are a silver grey nylon, not only to enhance the appearance, but to also make it easier to find things inside. Have you ever tried to look for that tiny black USB key, or similar object, buried deep inside a all black case? This is even worse in a dimly illuminated airplane cabin. The light silver interior really helps out.  We also use materials that are more durable in the areas that are subjected to the greatest wear potential and add corner protection devices where appropriate.  

My favorite case, and the one I use daily, is the ThinkPad backpack. I like it because it neatly holds the things I carry and it frees up my hands when I’m using it. This is of extra importance to me on those days I ride my motorcycle to work. I prefer to wear it rather than stuff it into some bike mounted case. This is the very backpack I used when I rode half of the Trans-America Trail earlier in the  year. It’s Trail tested tough, with no issues to report.    

The backpack has a simple profile with a TrackPoint inspired zipper pull 

ThinkPad backpack interior with a myriad of compartments and a handy removable pouch

Ventilated padding and a “secret pocket”

All of the bags share an aesthetic theme, storage features, and design details. They do, however,  vary in terms of configuration and materials they are constructed from. Most are primarily made from  industrial strength nylon, but we do offer an executive genuine leather model.  Leather is always interesting because it aquires a patina and softens over time. All the cases use an integral air cushion to protect your prized possession from extreme abuse. An elastic belt and velcro closure holds it securely in place. 

Safe and snug

TrackPoint inspired zipper pull and related sheath

My favorite detail is the TrackPoint inspired zipper pull that appears on the bags most prominant compartment. The spherical shape looks great and makes it really easy to grasp, especially when compared to a more traditional flat pull. We tried to invent a way to use a real TrackPoint cap on the pull, so it could be used as a spare in case of emergency. We finally had to give up on the idea, we just needed more time to invent a way that guaranteed it wouldn’t fall off when you used it as a pull. Maybe the idea  will resurface on next generation models.

ThinkPad branding

We chose to blind emboss the ThinkPad brand into the case and the shoulder straps. I like the embossed branding for it’s subtle quality and stealth factor, although at times I want it to shout ThinkPad a bit more. Maybe we should consider a high quality enameled badge for future cases? 

David Hill

Sapper, Calder, and Rand surround me

A few people have asked to see some images of where I work. They want to see my desk, what I have on my walls, my computer set up, and other such things. I’m both surprised and flattered that anyone would care. So here it is.

My desk is clearly the most unique piece of furniture in my office. I’m pretty certain it is the only one like it in the United States. It’s a desk that was part of the ”From 9 to 5″ modular office system that my friend Richard Sapper created for Castelli. It won the Compasso d’Oro design prize in 1987.  This now out of production beauty was acquired by IBM in the late 1980’s to evaluate furniture systems with integral cable management features for possible deployment in IBM facilities around the world. Following the extensive evaluation,  it was nearly thrown out. Fortunately fellow designer Tom Hardy knew the head of corporate real estate who tipped him off about the desks existence.  Tom aptly rescued the desk and happily used it during his tenure as the IBM design program manager. The original ThinkPad design model and other design classics were reviewed by Tom, Sapper and others on this very desk. Now that’s history. When Tom left IBM it sadly went straight to storage in some forgotten New York warehouse. Incredible that nobody wanted this masterwork of modern design. I guess some people just don’t get it.

Original publicity photo of the desk

When I moved to Raleigh in 1995, to take over design leadership for IBM’s Personal Systems Group, my office was furnished with nothing more than a crooked whiteboard,  and a upside down trash can that served as a makeshift telephone stand. I inquired where my office furniture was, and was told  there wasn’t any. The site architect quipped that I should have brought my old furniture from Minnesota. I was shocked. IBM was out of furniture?  I immediately launched an extensive search for something decent.  To my surprise, I located the Sapper desk. What a find.  It was still in storage, death row as I call it,  awaiting a certain demise. I quickly had it shipped to Raleigh where it arrived in a dusty pile of disorganized parts with no directions. The term some assembly required was the order of the day.  Sapper graciously talked me through the assembly process to the best of his recollection over the phone. I love the desk, how it looks, and and how it makes me feel to use it. It’s the perfect compliment to my Tizio lamp and ThinkPad. When we moved to our new building I had it repainted with a fresh coat of black laquer for it’s new home.

The pearwood work surface is usually covered with notes to myself, hand drawn pencil sketches, action items, and my calendar of the moment. I always have handy a large supply of blank copier paper for drawing. I hate to draw on paper with lines as it has a tendency to alter your thinking. It’s also difficult to look at the sketch with other lines competing for your eyes attention. I draw with either my Lamy Safari pen, black ink, or a sharp wooden pencil. I can’t stand to use a mechanical pencil. The lead annoyingly breaks all the time and you have no ability to control the weight of the stroke. I keep a red pencil nearby for highlighting ideas or coloring the TrackPoint cap. I love to work with these simple but powerful tools.

The kind of pencil sketch I like to make

My office wall with various artwork and books

Also in my office I have a smattering of design trophies, various design books,  a signed Paul Rand poster given to me by Paul, a wonderful photograph taken by my oldest son Eric, and a great construction paper tiger built my youngest son Travis when he was in grade school.  On my credenza is a fantastic whirligig dog crafted by the outsider artist Vollis Simpson.  Usually you will find plenty of  recent ThinkPad design models piled on the floor awaiting review and discussion.

Grrrrrreat!!!

I hope you found this behind the scenes view into where and how I do my thinking interesting. Thanks for asking. 

David Hill

ThinkPad USB port replicator with digital video

If you saw my desk at work you would find a stack of action items, pencil drawn concept sketches, and a zillion notes to myself.  In addition to this typical executive/designer stuff, I also have a  a large ThinkVision monitor, an external ThinkPad keyboard, a set of  great looking speakers, and a rarely used mouse. Since I  use a ThinkPad X300,  I don’t have a traditional bottom-side docking connector available to me. It just would not have fit without making the product significantly thicker. A classic ThinkPad docking solution just won’t work for me.  I don’t use these acessories all the time, but when I do,  they are a pain to connect.  There are  way too many cables that need to be continuously connected and unconnected to my ThinkPad to make me happy. I know there are others out there who share my plight, I choose to call them the “docking connector challenged” crowd.  We started working on the design solution many months ago and just recently announced a new ThinkPad USB port replicator with digital video. This device provides a quick and easy connection to the things I use with my ThinkPad. Simply connect via a single USB cable  for access to your monitor, internet connection/LAN, headphones/speakers, USB printer, keyboard, mouse, and other USB devices. We made sure to include one front mounted USB port for things like a memory key. Importantly,  it barely adds to my desktop clutter.

Designing such a device may sound simple, but the simpler they are,  the more difficult they are to design. Some might look at this kind of product as a box with some cables that connect to it, but can’t that be said of all computers?  It just isn’t true. The question was how could we design a better box. We made numerous studies to validate connector placement, cable routing, display arrangements, and other such typical design realted criteria, but the  biggest question for me was how can we make this look like something worthy of the ThinkPad brand. Here is a small sample of the many study models my team created to evaluate this problem. The models are made from  black foamcore, cardboard, various papers, and other such traditional model making materials. This kind of quick and low cost model making technique is great for evaluating the overall design concept, scale,  proportion, and simulating typical usage scenarios. Most of these models we “cabled up”  using real cables  held on with hot melt glue.  

Collection of study models

Side view of final design

Rear view showing connectors

In the end I think we created something that not only looks good, but it solves a real problem. You can read about the detailed specifiications or order one here.  The design has a vertical orientation to minimize the desktop footprint, and puts the connectors, indicators, and button in the right places.  The design  formally resembles a tiny ThinkPad slightly tilted backward on a thin plate-like stand. I think it’s a simple solution to a complex task.

David Hill