By
HP Enterprise Design Group
Description
The Vault Design Language is an entirely new "Look and Feel" for our Enterprise products, representing one-third of our global business. These products include Servers, Storage Devices, Power Devices, and Network products, freestanding and enclosed in racks in an IT Data Center. The Design Language (called Vault to indicate how secure your information will be with our products) has to scale from small entry level businesses with a handful of users to huge corporate organizations with global Data Centers and millions of users.
Key Features
and/or Benefits
Client usage data was used to focus on solving the critical usability issues. We created design solutions that are based on the principles of consistency and simplicity. These solutions are then subjected to rigorous human factor and prototype testing. These client-inspired innovations include clear baffles that let you easily see which processors and memory slots are populated, Snap and Go quick release latches with friction reduced rails that cut deployment time of rack-mount servers in half, consistent use of color and shapes on the tool-less touchpoints, and high quality labels with enriched graphics make it easier to configure and service.
With a customer inspired design philosophy and two years of dedicated design research, we rethought virtually every aspect of server design and serviceability. Cables were reduced and taken out of your way. Tool-less touch points were added and simplified. Clear baffles let you easily see which processors and memory slots are populated. Components were made smarter, and labels more intuitive. Components were also precisely located so that servicing one wouldn't accidentally impact another.
One of the biggest challenges was how to communicate the new level of quality and usability of our new designs to customers. Historically, when you look at servers, storage and networking products in Data Center racks, all you saw was the functional elements like Disc Drives, LED's, venting patterns for air flow, etc. So how to dramatically change this look and develop the proper metaphors for The Vault was the aesthetic/brand issue we faced.
