Looking to express its union of technical expertise and personal content, Maxtor asked frog to redesign its latest series of digital storage devices, the Maxtor OneTouch III. The partnership then expanded into a holistic brand enterprise in which frog explored and developed every aspect of the business system - not only the product design, but the accompanying software, copywriting, global packaging, and website.
frog's role was to ensure that Maxtor's newest product series would provide not only the best engineering, but the best user experience. Through extensive interviews, we found that consumers didn't just want safety; they wanted storage solutions that were tailored to them, based on lifestyle and intended use. They wanted recognition of data storage as personal archive. And they wanted simplicity - easy ways to find and navigate the right system for their needs.
To create a diversified product line that still maintained the integrity of the brand, frog needed to develop a recognizable new design language for the company. Our solution evokes both the humanity and the utility of digital storage. The sides and edges of the device are encased with a soft, rubber-like material, lending them a tactile, emotional appeal, while the enclosure itself forms a distinctive capital-I shape reminiscent of a steel girder - representing the strength and support of the Maxtor solution. This I-beam design was extended throughout the entire product line, from the smallest to the largest hardware devices - showcasing Maxtor's personal approach to digital protection, no matter the extent of a user's needs.
The slightly wider new stance of the hardware removes the need for external supports, making the units stackable should storage requirements expand over time. Slipping, jarring, and electrostatic discharge, all of which can lead to data loss, are prevented by the softness of the rubber. And a new ventilation system was designed to promote cooling, allowing the hard drive to perform both more safely and more quietly. It is a union of technology and aesthetics, a redesign that has improved not only the appearance, but the performance of the devices.
frog extended its design strategy beyond the hardware, into every aspect of the user experience. We crafted a new look and feel for Maxtor's OneTouch™ Manager software, using clear, identifiable icons to facilitate ease of synchronization. We redesigned the Maxtor website to bring the connections between lifestyle and product choice front and center, with pictures and narratives that pair user needs - professional, artistic, and family-oriented - to device. These individual examples were then complemented with other tools such as a product grid and compare feature, which grant users the ability to compare products side by side. Even the packaging was reconceived to fall in line with the new mantra, the technological made personal. Emotive visuals, colors, and language were developed so that the Maxtor tone, in all its iterations, remained that of a premium consumer brand. Maxtor works to support users without confusing them, and this emphasis on simplification runs throughout our entire design suite: from software to website, from product to packaging - everything is user accessible.
The new product line's consistent external appearance diminished variance in the foundational elements of construction, reducing long-term production costs and accelerating time to market for iterative products. By re-envisioning each aspect of the business system, frog was able to better define the Maxtor identity for its consumers: personal, simple, reliable data protection.
The Maxtor OneTouch III 500GB was named a CES Innovations 2006 Awards Honoree in the "Computer Accessories."
