Western Digital Industrial and Interaction Design Language | Role: Interaction Design Direction
The Western Digital My Book and My Passport, hard drives with SmartWare, captured a significant portion of the digital storage market. Compelling and intuitive industrial and interaction design distinguished the company’s offerings, boosting sales in a segment formerly characterized by commoditized products.
Design Language and Interaction Design
The My Book and My Passport drives leveraged the metaphor of books and journals. They proved to be a powerful combination for consumers. Coupled with Western Digital’s intuitive SmartWare backup software, the hardware and software reassured users that their data was being carefully archived.
Intuitive Metaphor
Subtle references to books suggested the behavior of collecting storage devices. Early design research revealed that users often marked drives to remind them of their contents. With users foremost in mind, Western Digital introduced drives with e-ink labels.
SmartWare
