Product Design Scotland, Edinburgh: Shore Design

MiTAC ▪ Digital Media Adapter

Requirement

Having developed their own new design platform locally in Taiwan for a Digital Media Adapter (DMA), MiTAC found it virtually impossible to attract distributors to resell their product due to its lack of consumer appeal and cost. As MiTAC had worked along side Shore on several successful collaboration projects for Packard Bell and NEC, they turned to Shore Design to assist in getting their new platform onto the market.

Development

With the production tooling budget practically used up on the old design and the mandatory use of printed circuit boards from stock created also from the old design, there was very little room for manouvere on the new design. However we looked to re-fresh the product by simplifying the design and lightening the “face” with a more contemporary look and colour scheme.

Additionally we targeted the product’s manufacturing costs by removing unnecessary secondary processes, relying on good design as opposed to arbitrary applied paint finishes. We replaced individual light guides with a simple “secret till lit” area, again cleaning up the visual impact of the product and added a clear plastic moulded support stand.

Result

The new design has been unanimously accepted by the sales channels and has gone onto wide scale distribution throughout Taiwan, Korea & Japan. As well as the new sales, MiTAC were  also able to benefit from the reduced manufacturing costs thus maximising their profit margins. A testament to the power of good design.