Hardware & Software
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Product design
Dell Stanza
Creating the intersection of digital and analogue tools.
Introduction
Dell Stanza is a digital and analogue tool designed to enhance productivity for hybrid workers. It bridges traditional pen-and-paper methods with digital ecosystems.
Project information
Company
Dell
My role
Lead Product Designer
Year
2022-2023
the challenge
The modern hybrid worker faces challenges with multiple tools and a lack of interoperability among systems. The goal was to address these issues by creating a seamless product that integrates both digital and physical work methods.
Interoperability was also a key issue as most workers had different ecosystems. We set out to identify and learn about the various needs so that we could build and validate a new type of product for Dell.
The vision
Concept Stanza was conceived as a companion to our compute systems.
Marrying pen, paper and our digital ecosystems - designed to elevate productivity by letting us write, work, create & collaborate however we want.
"It’s the rare concept device that I think seems pretty ready to go"
The Verge
extensive ux research
I helped validate the user experience through user surveys and contextual inquiries, where we left the device with different users and tasked them with diary studies. The goal was to understand the new hybrid working environment and natural user behaviours.
After identifying existing behaviours in digital and physical note-taking, I helped put together a document that would outline some experience principles and goals as we moved forward to prioritise features and flows.
Extensive testing was conducted to establish the tactile feel of both the screen and pen as well.
visual design approach
I was the lead designer who was responsible for establishing design principles, helping the team, conducting user research, designing and testing interactions, and building a design language that would be used throughout the product.
This was an extensive process as we documented components and patterns ranging from pen gestures to file sharing behaviours across devices.
I designed and tested multiple interaction types for features like handwriting-to-text conversion, while also making sure we validated it with usability findings.
The outcome
Stanza reached the product phase within Dell after its successful concept launch at CES as part of Dell's Future of Work theme.
Positive feedback from CES attendees highlighted its readiness for market launch. The device also led to the filing of a patent