Motorola's Connected Home group had lost Walmart as a partner and was struggling to get their phones placed with other retail accounts as well. The challenge was to create a compelling line of products while meeting the aggressive timelines for sales meetings and manufacturing targets. We created a new brand direction and designed 5 phone systems over the next 2 years. In addition to addressing the products, we also created sales tools to assist Motorola with their line reviews.
The results included multiple CES awards, the winning back of the Walmart account, and a valuable increase in shelf presence with their retail partners.
↑ Here's a look at the product offering before I was brought on board.
↑ I developed a set of design goals for us to shift Motorola's perception in the market. We needed to focus on a new visual language that conveyed a sense of comfort within the home, and within the hand.
↑ We gave this low-tier phone a gentle aesthetic via a smile-like arc to the part break and the keypad. A mid-tier look was achieved by relying on texture differences rather than requiring more costly painting processes.
↑ This is Motorola's first foray into DECT technology. Because of the smaller form factor, special attention was paid to the differentiation of the individual keys of the keypad.
↑ This is a low-tier phone with some high tier treatments, including an inlaid gloss front panel and rear speaker port, and an LED light-ring that flashes on incoming calls.
↑ Similar treatments were created for the upright base so messages could easily be seen from a distance.
↑ Here's a snapshot of the product development process from the engineering schematic, to sketches, refined 2D concepts, 3D data, and the final CMF specs.
↑ This was Motorola's top-tier phone. We used material breaks at all of the touchpoints including the earcup, the rear speaker, and the side grips.
↑ Here's the form evolution from simple 3D studies, to refined surfaces, to engineering data.
↑ We paid special attention to the form to ensure a comfortable fit in the hand. And the metallic paint process gave it an automotive-quality finish.
↑ The bases were designed by Motorola's internal design group, but these are some of my sketch contributions to that effort.