dpm 9600
digital voice recorder with barcode scanner and docking station
client:
project lead:
christoph pauschitz
design team:
lukasz bertoli,
tom haberfellner,
aleix inglès elias,
christoph pauschitz,
christian rukower,
jürgen spangl
a well-designed product reveals its physical advantages at a glance.
a well-designed product is a great experience to use.
a well-designed product emphasizes the professionalism of its user.
obviously, the new Philips digital pocket memo is well-designed: two iF awards prove that.
once again, the argument that simultaneously working on the product design and the interaction design of a product improves its usability and gives it a distinct appearance, is being verified. Philips Speech Processing commissioned us in mid-2005 to work on the new series of digital voice recorders, and they gave us the green light to work not only on the product design but also on the interaction design to further strengthen their number one position in the market. by the end of february 2007 the new Philips digital pocket memo series 9600 was published and was given a warm welcome by the market.
the target group
as usual, we started with thorough research of product usage. typical users of voice recorders are lawyers and doctors. they are always short of time and have to produce lots of texts. it is evident that one is more productive when dictating a text and having other people type the text. we interviewed representatives of these main target groups and watched them using the product in order to get a deeper insight. for them, a voice recorder is not another nice-to-have manager gadget, it is part of their core strategy of being effective. our first conclusion therefore: the new product must fulfill that core functionality at its best, to record acoustic memos.
moreover, the product must behave like a silent servant, ready to serve its master.
the professionals we were talking to stated it clearly: they use and treat the voice recorder as a tool. on top of that it quickly became evident that this object functions as an insignia of professionalism. yes, everyone said that when deciding on a product they would focus on functionality, but we all know that in the end our behavior is mainly influenced by our limbic system, the oldest part of the brain.
mood board
so it was as clear as crystal that the product not only must function as a tool but must visually tell its future owner that it is a tool; at first sight. the shape should suggest the professionalism of its user. we developed several mood boards which illustrate what gives a tool character. with this mood board we controlled the design process.
in addition, the product must have some oomph, it must appeal to the target group, suit their taste, and should project the image of an exclusive lifestyle.
but the new design experience should not end with the look of the product. there is another blissful sensation when touching the product. we designed it so that it perfectly fits the user's hand.
»›the device is fantastic — and the user-friendly ergonomics are just what our customers have been waiting for‹ — this is just one of many positive quotes we received from our dealers during the product launch and introduction process.
working with the very professional design company GP designpartners is a great asset! not only because of their focus on the target group that we addressed, their integral product view and interaction design competencies, but also because of their ability to steer and promote a project within a corporation with various different interests between departments and people. the focus on the design concept and objective was kept throughout the product development, involving engineers, product management and general management.
we at Philips Speech Processing are very much looking forward to continuing and to further intensifying this good cooperation in the future — the next project is in the pipeline. stay tuned!«
martin koch
product manager
a merge of product design and interaction design
finally, after switching the product on, the user is immediately able to operate it, thanks to the improved interaction design. as you might have guessed, we formed a multidisciplinary team and worked on the product design and the interaction design simultaneously — which is the specialty of GP as you know. thus we were able to create a new product experience because interaction design and industrial design could influence each other. the operation process had been optimized and tuned to the operating elements and vice versa.
we developed suggestions on which information should be shown on the screen and at which position and coordinated the control elements with the screen elements. the rocker button which helps to navigate up and down and also left and right through different menus is one of the solutions we came up with. there are two smart buttons which change their behavior according to the context. one of the main improvements of the interaction experience of voice recorders is the visualization of the operation modes of the 4-position slide switch in the display on the front of the digital pocket memo 9600. this helps the user to work with the device, especially at the beginning or after an interruption.
although not every detail we suggested could be realized, together with the Philips Speech Processing software division we managed to achieve a vast improvement in usability, as you can read in several tests in magazines.
barcode scanner
after the main part of the design for the dpm had been completed, we started designing the docking station and the barcode scanner. again, ergonomic considerations influenced our work as well as to meet the visual language of the dpm and, consequently, the taste of the users. if the dpm is used with the barcode scanner it looks just as good as when used without it. the barcode scanner blends perfectly with the dpm and is also easy to use. the design allows for a natural posture of the hand when reading a barcode. the ir-window is slightly pivoted and encourages the correct orientation of the device. all these features which shift into benefits during usage were reasons enough to award another iF award to the barcode scanner.
docking station
the docking station repeats the subtle curve of the dpm. this curve is a visual cue to the support of the parked dpm. even on a crowded desktop the dpm will stand out and be ready to hand. the silent servant of its effective master.
