‘Is that it? Is it really done?’
As reactions go, it probably wasn’t what Todd Wood – BlackBerry’s most senior designer – had been dreaming of. But despite his employer’s initial response to the minimalist PlayBook – a rival to Apple’s iPad – the tablet is set to become the most important product in RIM’s history. It is pivotal to the company’s reputation – not to its bottom line…
As BlackBerry’s equivalent to Jonathan Ive points out, ‘The hardware is the stage – the cinema before the show starts. It is the operating system, the liquid graphics display and the depth of colour that are the real stars. The industrial design is the supporting actor’.
In fact, the PlayBook’s exquisite-yet-minimal form is distinctive by its lack of, well, anything. There is no home button; no unnecessary flourishes. Says Wood, ‘We wanted it to be a bit monolithic, similar to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey’.
The result is that the PlayBook (unlike the iPad) could not be considered in or out of fashion. Instead, it is above fashion – an altogether more impressive look to pull off. Much of the design team’s hard work remains unseen: ‘We probably went through over 100 prototypes, sometimes made overnight using a 3D printer’ revealed Wood. ‘It was a bit like Goldilocks: not too hot, not too cold – just right.’
Having used the PlayBook for a couple of days, we’re impressed. But to be fair, it’s a little early to say whether BlackBerry will get its fairytale ending…
From a surfboard to a rice cooker: Todd Wood, BlackBerry’s design guru, reveals the fascinating secrets behind the making of the PlayBook…
The reaction from BlackBerry was ‘Is that it?’… “They said, ‘Are you really done?’ But remember, the hardware is the stage – the cinema before the show starts. Designing the form, we looked at things we always carried around, like a moleskin notebook. We liked the scale it of. We also looked at a DVD case and a paperback book. We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if [the PlayBook] was thinner than a paperback’.”
We didn’t use focus groups or hide behind a two-way mirror… “We engage users in discussion. We’ll meet with pairs of people, friends. Two friends will forget you’re in the room and start bantering. They’ll speak their minds – it’s a bit like sitting in the back of a car. Though it’s not always what they say, but what they do. They’ll pick up a prototype, put it to their ear and start imagining using it. There’s a natural attraction to the right design.”
“The hardware is the stage – the cinema before the show starts”
The PlayBook was inspired by a surfboard… “We started with a design storyboard. We imagine the ideal customer – normally we use a car as a reference but with the PlayBook we chose to use a surfboard by James Perse. We liked the elegant shape and the silver finish that made it look almost invisible when floating in water. It’s one of those things that is paired down to the essentials and that lasts forever. We got to a simple form factor and reluctantly added details when necessary.”
Apple didn’t invent the magnetic power connector… “When it came to connectors we looked at the minimum. We didn’t try to change the world and introduce a proprietary connection, we went with the industry standard. With the magnetic power adaptor, we saw others using this type of connector but its origins actually lay in the home. My rice cooker has a magnetic connector for safety: when you move it, the connector will break away rather than spill the hot contents.”
We deliberately hid the most important features… “We heard that the makers of televisions spend a little bit more on speakers because it fosters the illusion that the display is better. If you spend an extra dollar on the display you won’t notice any difference. But spend an extra dollar on the speakers and better sound makes all the difference to the experience as a whole.”
