Lenovo:

9 Principles For Great Branding By Design

2012-04-16T23:42:49+00:00

Fastcompany.com just published a new blog called 9 Principles For Great Branding By Design. I'm one of the three designers interviewed by the author, Mark McNeilly. The others include Bob Brunner, former manager of design at Apple, and Joe Doucet, up and coming design star. Thanks to Mark for putting this blog together about a topic I find personally interesting and important to the field of design. There are few products that have a stronger design and branding connection than a ThinkPad. David Hill

Ferdinand A. Porsche 1935-2012

2012-04-06T13:20:10+00:00

Ferdinand A. Porsche, designer of the iconic 911 sports car, died yesterday at the age of 76. He was the grandson of the founder of the company, known to many by the nickname "Butzi". He was also one of my design heroes. A hero not only because he penned one of the most impressive car designs ever, but because he had a design philosophy that inspired my own. I'm mourning the loss of this design legend. Someday I want to own a nice black 911 and emerse myself in his philosophy every day, tough duty. A true design legend at work shaping a future icon The original Porsche 911 turned out to be such an immediate and lasting hit that the company never entertained replacing it with a new design. Instead, they managed the design through evolutionary refinement. Each new generation was intended to improve on the breed, rather than ignore the past. In spite of countless modifications, technology shifts, and governmental regulations, today's 911 is a clear descendant of the original design vision. A vision that has endured for nearly 50 years. There are few other cars that can boast of such an incredible legacy and cult following. Now in its seventh design generation, the car remains an icon of performance, engineering prowess, and pure sex appeal. Ferdinand was once quoted as saying “Design must be functional and functionality must be translated into visual aesthetics, without any reliance on gimmicks that have to be explained.” I can relate to this. ...

Happy Birthday Mies

2012-03-27T15:57:51+00:00

Today would have been the 126th birthday of the seminal modernist architect, Mies van der Rohe. Although Mies is my favorite architect, celebrating his birth was not on my radar until I saw this morning's Google logo. Thanks for the reminder Google. I really like how they transformed their logo into an abstraction of 1956's Crown Hall at IIT. If you click on this link you can watch an interesting Google Doodle animation and learn more about Mies. Mies did not like the railings that were added to the porch and stairs As a designer, I really admire the work of Mies and how he took simplicity and ordered perfection to the highest level possible. He broke new ground with buildings that celebrated structure rather than hid it. The Wikipedia claims he called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He used rationale ideals to guide the creative process of architectural design. One of his most famous quotes is quite simply "God is in the details". I've never seen a building he designed that looks dated or out of step with my own design thinking. He was a true pioneer in the field of architecture. One of my design professors, Len Singer, was actually the last person to have graduated with a degree from IIT under the direction of Mies. Maybe that's where I discovered a passion for Mies and his work? The Mies van der Rohe Society is a wonderful resource where you can explore his...

Butterflies are Free

2012-03-05T22:04:32+00:00

Today started out like any other day for me, an early morning conference call, calendar planning with Bev, some ThinkPad strategy sessions, and a few design detail meetings filled my calendar. Shortly after lunch, however, all of these things became significantly less important. Sadly, I received word that my good friend John Karidis had lost his 5 year battle with cancer. I was devastated. For those of you who don't know, John was the engineering inspiration and driving force behind the ThinkPad 701c. You can read that as, he invented it. Most people may remember this iconic ThinkPad by the code name "Butterfly". The engineering achievement associated with this ThinkPad was incredible. The entire idea of creating a Thinkpad with an expandable keyboard stands out in a way unimaginable to most. You can watch the original television advertisement for it here. Aside from this milestone career achievement, John was quite simply put, the best engineer I ever met, or had the honor to work with. He was an IBM Distinguished Engineer at a level that deserved a special title. News of his passing brought a tear to my eye. I always knew this was a foreseeable outcome to his long illness, but I was less than prepared for the ending. Some things in life just aren't fair. Butterfly was the first ThinkPad I ever owned, and I must admit, the one with the most incredible crowd appeal. Even today, 17 years after introduction to market, it still brings...

I Have a Pinterest

2012-02-27T16:08:51+00:00

Last week I added another social networking tool to my arsenal, Pinterest. At first I was a bit skeptical of this one, but now I'm a believer. It's a great venue to share favorite images on virtual bulletin boards and caption them as you see fit. My initial focus was to create a ThinkPad Design board so that I could share some images with my readers. After playing around with the tool, I decided to include other interests. I've now added boards about architecture, product design that showcases form+function, motorcycles with soul, and Japanese gardening. You can browse my Pinterest page and boards here. The Wikipedia defines Pinterest as follows: Pinterest is a pinboard-styled social photo sharing website. The service allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections. The site's mission statement is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting." Pinterest is managed by Cold Brew Labs, a team based in Palo Alto, California. The website has proven especially popular among women. I'm not sure I totally believe the Wikipedia claim that the site is of primary interest to women. The page states that most of the site's users are female, with 97% of the site's Facebook "likes" being made by women. I don't want to argue with the Wikipedia, but my some of my pins have not exactly aligned to that norm. My "pin" of the Triumph Bonneville Scrambler, inspired by the Steve McQueen 1964...

What Do ThinkPad & Ferrari Have in Common?

2012-02-22T15:10:08+00:00

I thought I would share a link to a recent internet interview I did with Think Digit about what makes ThinkPad design tick. Read the article and find the answer to this question and more. What Do ThinkPad & Ferrari Have in Common? I hope you find the article interesting. David Hill

Full of Comments!

2012-01-23T18:25:45+00:00

Due to some technical difficulties associated with a blog platform migration, we temporarily lost the ability to display historical comments. This really made me sad, since comments are so valuable to Lenovo and me personally. I'm very pleased to report they are back. The comment counter still may register at zero, but they are there. Click on comments and they magically appear. Hopefully in a few days the counter will be in synch with reality. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused our readers.

Head of the Class

2011-12-07T17:29:43+00:00

We just announced the ThinkPad X130e, our latest offering specially designed for the k-12 education crowd. If you ever had kids, you know the kind of abuse they can dish out to the things around them. I suffered through unexplainable damage to VCR's, televisions, and countless electronic toys during the first decade of the kid experience. Imagine handing them an ordinary computer to take back and forth to school each day, and even more scary, use without your direct supervision? That's why we went back to the blackboard to create something that is far from ordinary. The X130e design has been uniquely ruggedized for the extreme wear and tear education environment. Here are some of the things Lenovo did to ensure success: Rubber bumper absorbs side impacts 33% stronger corners due to larger energy dispersing radii Reinforced and recessed ports Kid-proof hinges last up to 30,000 cycles Stronger bezel to protect the screen Can you say rubber baby buggy bumpers five times fast? When we first started working on the project I was insistent that the design should telegraph ruggedness through an obvious feature. Strengthening the hinges was a great idea, but you can't see that. It can only be experienced over time. Enter the the rubber bumper. To me, it not only protects the edges from the occasional drop from little Billy's book bag, but it outwardly communicates ruggedness. Would you buy a Jeep without bumpers? Even if you never need them it just...

ThinkPad 20th Anniversary Edition?

2011-11-23T16:30:39+00:00

I recently blogged about celebrating the 19th anniversary of ThinkPad. Every time we pass one of these milestones it makes me realize just how much black paint I have beneath my fingernails, and how significant ThinkPad has become. This week I started thinking about the forthcoming 20th anniversary, October 5th isn’t so far away. How could we celebrate the 20th anniversary in a dramatic and appropriate way. If you research wedding anniversary milestones you will find many fascinating traditional suggestions for ways to honor the event with gifts. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia on this topic: The names of some anniversaries provide guidance for appropriate or traditional gifts for the spouses to give each other; if there is a party these can be brought by the guests or influence the theme or decoration. These gifts vary in different countries, but some years have well-established connections now common to most nations: 5th Wooden, 10th Tin, 15th Crystal, 20th China, 25th Silver, 30th Pearl, 40th Ruby, 50th Golden, 60th Diamond. The tradition may have originated in medieval Germany where, if a married couple lived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their wedding, the wife was presented by her friends and neighbors with a silver wreath to congratulate them for the good fortune that had prolonged the lives of the couple for so many years. On celebration of the 50th, the wife received a wreath of gold. Over time the number of symbols expanded and the German tradition came...

What’s the Point?

2011-10-11T21:40:10+00:00

Life used to be simpler in the early days of portable computing. When it came to cursor movement and selecting targets, there really weren’t many choices for getting things done. Either you used a clumsy trackball contraption that clipped to the side of the computer, an external mouse, or you owned a ThinkPad. The TrackPoint really blazed new territory when it came to integrated pointing. IBM ran an entertaining television commercial in the early 1990′s showcasing the TrackPoint advantage while flying on a business trip. You can watch it here. It really brings back some memories of how it used to be. Eventually some companies started placing marble size Trackballs on palm-rests, and eventually touch pads came into the picture. The first versions were rather skimpy by today’s standards. Those clip on trackball things always reminded me of drive-in table trays. A lot has changed since the early 1990′s. Portable computers are faster, lighter, and stronger for sure. From a human interaction perspective, It’s also not just about controlling a cursor and selecting a target. Touch interfaces are everywhere we look: ATM machines, gas pumps, smart phones, tablets, even my home thermostat uses a touch interface. For a design team, it’s very important that we understand trends in technology, but also changes in human behavior, expectations, and interaction models. To further understand the current landscape, I thought it would be good to survey Design Matters readers about their current...