Design Continuum Teams With Fujitsu On Breakthrough Redesign of DynaMo Magneto-Optical Data Storage System.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1999--

"The Shape Of Serious Storage" Wins Innovations 99 Award At CES

Show

Design Continuum, an international design firm with offices in Boston, San Francisco, and Milan, Italy, has teamed up with Fujitsu Computer Products of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd., to effect a comprehensive redesign of Fujitsu's DynaMO 640SE 640MB Magneto-Optical Disk Drive.

As a result of this collaboration, DynaMO(R) was named today one of the best new products at the International CES Show, having been designated an honoree in the Innovations 1999, Design and Engineering Awards and Software Showcase, for the Computer Hardware category. This prestigious award rewards companies' product ingenuity, creativity and product excellence.

DynaMO 640SE is a high-capacity, external, magneto-optical data storage drive that provides an extremely reliable way to store and access computer files or applications. Simple to set up and use, DynaMO is fast (up to 3.9 MB/sec data transfer rate), secure (dust, liquids, or magnets will not erase data from a MO disk), versatile (it comes with software for both Mac and PC platforms), backward compatible to all previous generations of ISO compatible media, and cost-effective (a 640MB disk costs only 3 cents per megabyte). DynaMO enables users to save 0.64 gigabytes of applications or documents on a single, infinitely rewritable disk.

"The DynaMO 640SE is an important and highly successful product for us," commented Mark Polom, Product Manager, Fujitsu Computer Products of America. "Our relationship with Continuum has resulted in the reinvigoration of the DynaMO brand in the highly competitive data storage market."

For the redesign, Continuum worked closely with Fujitsu to develop "The Shape of Serious Storage," a comprehensive new design concept and branding strategy for DynaMO. Continuum conceived the idea of deliberately devising a proprietary shape and look for the product. DynaMO's resulting distinctive form - unique to Fujitsu - communicates the power of its performance and the sophistication of its users.

Continuum's work, however, went far beyond creating DynaMO's new external form. The firm approached the project in a holistic way, focusing on design features that would enhance the user's experience from beginning to end. Industrial and graphic design specialists from Continuum's Boston and San Francisco offices collaborated as a cross-disciplinary team to create a system that totally integrated the product, manual and interface. Particular attention was paid to the elements that evoke the user's "delight" with the brand: the product packaging graphics, instruction documentation, installation interface, packaging structure, and the overall "out-of-box" experience.

"Our goal was to control the user experience from beginning to end, from the look of the logo to the installation interface graphics on the computer screen. DynaMO is an incredibly reliable, refined product that is simple to set-up and use," said Ira Velinksy, Principal, Industrial Design, Continuum.

In all, Continuum redesigned for Fujitsu the DynaMO logo, product packaging, labels for the disks, user manual with complete set up instructions, interface screens that appear on the monitor when the software is being installed, and the computer generated (CG) animation that exhibits the product in a fresh way on the monitor. The firm also designed the CG animation used to demonstrate the product at its initial trade show launch and at other venues.

Continuum constructed the design strategy by building on Fujitsu's consumer research with highly targeted user profiling. Continuum characterized the target user audience and described its attitudes towards similar types of products. The firm conducted direct observation of potential users' routine work habits, even taking into account the look and set-up of their work spaces. This process yielded qualitative and attitudinal insights that helped guide the industrial design, packaging and graphics work.

This research also led to the development of a branding strategy that called for migrating the product from a commodity technology purchase to a high-end technology purchase for professionals, especially those in applied arts. The resulting strategy, in turn, drove the development of all components of the product's redesign.

"We were committed to the idea that redesigning DynaMO had to transcend the notion of simply creating a good design. It really had to address all aspects of the user's experience with the product. Our results validate the soundness of that approach," said Polom.

Founded in 1983, Design Continuum has offices in Boston, San Francisco and Milan, with affiliate offices in Adelaide, Australia. Continuum specializes in helping clients succeed in their markets by enhancing knowledge of their customers, developing products that offer a distinct competitive advantage, and building brands through strategic environments and graphic communications programs. The firm's clients have included Acer, Active Impulse Systems, AMF, BMW, Fujitsu, Herman Miller, KFC, Johnson & Johnson, MasterLock, Moen, Motorola, PictureTel, Pizza Hut, Polaroid, Proctor & Gamble, Reebok, Samsung, and Sunbeam.