We need to not just design tech that is faster . We can ’ t just design tech that is smaller . We need to design tech that is smarter .
A Millennial spin
Enter the HP Sprocket Portable Photo Printer . The wireless , palm-size printer syncs up with smartphones and uses special paper to print 2x3 photos without ink . Users can decorate the photos with an accompanying mobile app and print the photos onto stickers , resulting in a product that brings the shareability of social media to photo printing .
“ Many of our photos are trapped in the digital prison ,” says Sue Richards , General Manager of Home and Consumer Solutions for Print at HP . “ The Sprocket helps create those memories
The HP Sprocket — pocket printing on the go .
and give people that documentation to bring back the emotional experience they had in the moment . We ’ re putting more of a millennial spin on what was — previously — just a utility .”
In short , HP aimed to shift the printer from being an at-home , single-function product to integrating with the way we live — on the go and in your pocket . Instead of forcing traditional photo prints onto younger users , who are unlikely to suddenly start printing all their pictures and protecting them under plastic sheets in bulky albums , HP designed Sprocket around the way those users already experience photography .
On-the-go functionality
How do today ’ s users experience photography ? “ It ’ s mobile ,” says Mark Vaughn , Research and Development Project Manager at HP .
“ At your house , maybe you ’ re printing documents , but the Sprocket can go with you ,” Vaughn says . “ It ’ s super easy . You turn on Bluetooth , you get the app , and you go . It ’ s fun ; it ’ s immediate gratification ; it ’ s additive to the experience ; and it ’ s in the moment .”
Sprocket ’ s capabilities enables users to complement their journals and living spaces with prints . They also can easily print out graphics to create decals for sports equipment , laptops , and other personal items .
Design thinking , exemplified
To create products like Sprocket , HP is deeply studying users ’ wants and needs . Doing so helps to inform the final product and , ultimately , ensure its future success .
Sprocket , in particular , doesn ’ t just provide a new experience ; it dazzles customers — particularly HP ’ s younger audience — with a stunning design . And that “ dazzle ” perfectly exemplifies design thinking and innovation . Which , as it happens , are the values HP values most . •
HP Print Bot — more dialogue , fewer dialog boxes
The computing world has been driving toward simpler , cleaner , and more compact designs for years . The printer , however , has necessarily resisted this trend — until now .
Due to its mechanical nature , printers still have a number of moving parts with which users must contend . This complexity also extends beyond the physical printer and into the printing process , with print dialog boxes littered with options , ranging from margin width to print resolution . Today ’ s user doesn ’ t have time for all that .
That ’ s where the HP Print Bot comes in . With it , HP has successfully reduced this complexity
by allowing users to print photos and documents directly from Facebook Messenger .
The bot interacts with users , sending encouraging missives like , “ Nice photo , Kimmy !” and it eliminates the dialog box , giving users the one-button simplicity they ’ ve come to expect in their digital lives .
“ Younger people expect beauty and simplicity — computing by thumb ,” says Mark Vaughn , Research and Development Project Manager at HP . “ They don ’ t want to see big print dialog boxes . They just want to jump in , maybe make a choice or two , and have fun doing it .”
Historically , printers have been a source of stress for some users ( think of the coworker who ’ s always banging on the machine , trying to get it to print the agenda for a meeting that started two minutes ago ). HP ’ s Print Bot is designed to remove that stress , and to make the experience more seamless . •
Ken Musgrave is the Head of Global Customer Experience and Global Experience Design at HP . He has a master ’ s degree in design from Georgia Tech , and an MBA from the University of Utah .
Sue Richards is the General Manager of Home and Consumer Solutions for Print at HP . She is focused on updating HP ’ s portfolio to reflect how people today live — on-the-go and always on .
Mark Vaughn is a Research and Development Project Manager at HP . With the HP Print Bot , he is helping to revolutionize printing as we know it .
18 Innovation Journal · Issue 5 · Winter 2016