HP Print is redesigning print for the modern age | HP Innovation Journal

Once one of the hallmarks of Hewlett-Packard, printers as the world knew them had faded into the background. But, in an always-connected world—where making connections drives us—there remained a chance to re-craft HP’s products in the eyes of a new generation.

Consumers continue to view the printer as a product of necessity, rather than desire. To change that mindset, HP had to change the product that propagated it.

In a world where awareness of design continues to grow among consumers, however, the printer feels very, very out of place. It feels like it’s an attached peripheral in an age of cloud-connected, handheld devices.

HP knew it couldn’t ride on the coattails of their past successes—especially when it came to printers. With that in mind, the company charged forward with one goal in mind: Transform printer design by rebuilding it from the ground up.

Luckily—or perhaps fortuitously—designers at HP were already creating innovative products and apps. These flowing fountains of design thinking could (and would) inspire and reinvent the printer.

The first step on the path to innovation required a keen understanding of the ideal customer. As it turned out, most looked at printers and recalled visions of VCRs and other outdated, defunct technology.

Modern consumers clearly valued design and convenience above all else. For anyone who needed proof, they could visit Pinterest and witness how people built cabinets to hide printers or dressed up printers to blend in with minimalist interior designs. No longer viewed as a necessity, printers are treated more like a nuisance—something to hide in a closet to collect dust.

So the challenge quickly became, ‘How can the printer mesh with today’s imperatives?’

To answer that, HP needed to institute a change. What type of printer would appeal to a digitally native customer living in a completely connected world? How could a fresh design reinvigorate consumer interest and convince people it’s fun to print?

When HP set out to rebuild the printer, they designed sleek form factors with fun colors . More importantly, they created a product that allows people to interact with printers where, when, and how they wanted. Printing became just as easy as transferring a file from a phone to the physical world.

The HP All-in-One Remote is another prime example of designing with the experience in mind—HP’s driving focus as it looks toward the future.

The impetus for the creation of the HP All-in-One was to facilitate a relationship between you and your printer. With it, you can connect to other HP printers on your network—at home and at the office, for example. Beyond that, you can create high-quality documents from the camera-enabled HP PageLift feature. You can perform maintenance tasks and change printer settings. You can even use it to order original HP printing supplies, register your printer, and get HP support.

By meeting the challenges facing printers and printing accessories with design-oriented solutions, HP successfully brought the printer to the modern age.

That was just the tip of the iceberg, though. When it comes to the potential of design thinking and innovation at the company, HP is only just getting started. Innovation is underway at every single level, with designers at HP creating new products and apps to help hurtle printers—and every other product offering—into the age of mobility, cloud computing, and seamless user experiences.

For HP, the future—and the future of printing—has never looked brighter.