When even the colour of a velcro strap matters

I’ve been reading the entries on Lenovo Blogs recently. I haven’t read that many corporate blogs, but I have been really enjoying the posts by the bloggers from Lenovo.

There are currently 3 blogs on the site:

• The Heart of Business - Musings on corporate social responsibility
• Inside the Box - A computer enthusiasts view of Lenovo computers
• Design Matters - What a global product design team thinks about good design

Of the three, I enjoy Design Matters most. I particularly like the posts that give you glimpses of the design process. For example, in Moore’s Law and Grey Velcro, David Hill, Executive Director, Lenovo Corporate Identity and Design, shares the rational behind the recent change in the Thinkpad’s power adapters specifications. Engineering reasons aside, it’s interesting to note how Lenovo has used design to “ease” in the change.

1. Error-proofing: Changing the new power connector so that it will not physically fit in the power jack on an older generation ThinkPad
2. Feed-foward: Using a new colour (grey) for the power connector and velcro straps so that users can easily identify the correct adapter set when plucking one from the common office pool

The devil really is in the details isn’t it?

It’s a fine line between sharing and giving away trade secrets, but I do wish more companies will open up with their corporate blogs like what Lenovo has done. I may be a little too easily impressed, but reading about how even the colour of the velcro strap was a conscious design decision made me appreciate the quality of the Thinkpad.