Design thinking, where innovation and creativity connect | HP Innovation Journal

Things at HP Inc. have changed. Under new leadership, and with new imperatives to guide them, the company has undergone a shift—a big one. In the process, HP began the lengthy process of positioning itself as something new, something … innovative. Stacy Wolff, former director of notebook design and current global head of design, helped to lead that charge.

Back in 2011, HP Inc. underwent a shake-up, implementing company-wide changes that saw new leadership, new directives, and new goals. For then CEO Meg Whitman, in particular, this meant a complete change of focus. Going forward, Whitman wanted HP’s design teams to focus on answering one, very specific question: “Is it beautiful, or not?”

With that in mind, the company began what would become four years of change—at every single level. Most important among these changes was a shift in focus, from products—cost, technology, and addressable markets—to design. How HP’s products are created, and why, became the through line.

Stacy Wolff, after being brought on as global head of design under Whitman’s leadership, helped to lead this effort. And, with the introduction of Dion Weisler as CEO in 2015, changes in focus have continued apace. Weisler, for his part, is a “tinkerer.” His focus quickly became a continuation of what began under Whitman’s leadership—a passing of the baton, if you will.

All of these changes were made with specific goals in mind: to enable product design that is fresh, even iconic, and to enable leading design that will inspire.

For design teams at HP, that directive was and remains the “aha” moment.

The past four years have seen HP undertake the long, arduous journey of becoming a leader—with products that are consistent, and consistently stand out.

Before anyone could invigorate product design, though, HP’s design team faced the challenge of creating unified design guidelines for an already expansive and diverse line of offerings. Not only that, they needed to reinvent the thought process behind even the most basic product design.

In the process of accomplishing all that, the company saw significant upheaval. Processes were centralized, designers moved departments, budgets were centralized, and new investments were made. When the dust settled, HP had successfully brought together budget and people, and removed existing siloes.

You could call the first few years of change a revitalization. It required the necessary work of getting the house in order. And, doing so successfully positioned the company to take their first steps into a new world. Those steps ultimately led to progressive form factors, harmonious design, and—in our opinion—iconic products that people desire. That’s design innovation.

In the process of entering this new world, the real challenge became finding a way to create unified design guidelines for a company with such an expansive and diverse line of products. After pushing the limits of creativity, the design team at HP settled on three overarching goals: Product design should be progressive, harmonious, and iconic. Together, these attributes create the acronym, “PHI,” the Greek letter representing the golden ratio.

“Progressive” refers to the way product design moves forward year after year. The team chose the word “harmonious” (rather than consistent) to encourage designs that complement one another, while still giving the company room to create different looks for its many products.

The most subjective of these three design criteria, though, is “iconic.” For the design team, this describes the act of designing a product that stands out. After all, an ugly, practical product will disappear in the weeds; a beautiful, pragmatic product will bloom and flower.

Meeting these ambitious goals meant cleaning up the design of existing offerings, creating new leading products, and developing products that can achieve truly iconic status, such as the Spectre x360 convertible notebook.

Thus, HP began designing an array of products that both stood out and stood together—while also competing on price and aiming for the highest levels of performance.

By balancing pragmatism with a desire for change, HP has been able focus on crafting experiences that matter to their consumers—and the company is only just getting started.

So, where is HP today? Over the course of four years, the company has moved at light speed to get the balance between quality design and innovation just right. In doing so, they have transformed chaos into an extreme focus on detail, with a desire for true change and pragmatism driving the way forward.

The future of HP will see a continuing evolution of their products, and the company as a whole. And, with a new emphasis on developing beautiful, pragmatic products, design thinking and innovation feels right at home in the heart of HP.