Teledex LLC B-Series Business Phones
Creating A New Semantic
Teledex LLC, the leading telephone supplier to the worldwide hospitality market, selected IDE Inc. to design and assist with the development of a new line of business phones for the PBX market place. After surveying the competition, IDE set out to craft a new line of phones that would be the catalyst for Teledex and their strategic entry into the PBX market. The result of this effort is the Teledex B-Series business phones, which are a new benchmark for PBX phone design and a rousing success in the marketplace.
The challenges of designing the Teledex-B series phones go beyond product styling and component packaging. A new semantic needed
to be developed to emphasize "business-related" qualities like speed, precision, and the new aesthetics of "portability" as seen
in cellular phones and PDA peripherals. The new telephones also needed to remain compatible within the realm of current equipment,
thus cutting down on the 'learning curve' implicit in launching new hardware into a mature marketplace. A receptionist juggling
several callers, or a small-business executive on the line between two suppliers in different countries, both need to have a
quick and easy rapport with their telephone, from the emotional aspects of it's exterior form, to the more practical aspects
of keypad layouts and display legibility.
For IDE, the biggest challenge was accommodating Teledex's requests for factory configurable features and model variations.
Teledex stated that each phone model, five in all, would be required to do "double-duty," meaning the basic form of the molded
plastic housings would be accessorized by changing inserts in the molds. These inserts affect key population, adding or deleting
special function keys, with minimal visual impact to the appearance of the phones. From the outset, it was determined that two
basic footprint sizes would meet the space and form criteria, while allowing for different feature options. By creating flexible
designs utilizing mold inserts, IDE was able to save Teledex the capital investment of making entirely new tools for every
iteration of the B-Series line.
IDE undertook a human factors study to determine optimum display angles for the liquid-crystal display to be featured in the B150D
and B250D models. The reversible wedge-shaped foot on the underside of the telephone was set at an angle, which allowed for viewing
the LCD display in a desktop and wall-mounted orientation.
Exploring Concepts
IDE began the project with an assessment of the current PBX telephone market followed by an initial round of ideation concepts,
which were presented to Teledex management. The first round of concept sketches are often the most important, as they provide
the client with a fast, unique way of delineating their preferences and the opportunity of communicating them to the design team.
After two rounds of concept sketches and preliminary 3D foam models, Teledex chose two general directions for further detail
development. IDE's design team then proceeded to full-scale illustrative computer generated renderings, which provided the
client with a fairly realistic representation of the final design.Refinement And Design Completion
The design intent and form language needed to be preserved between the various models; for example, the cresting ridge at the rear
of the base needed to be resolved, both with and without an LCD and corresponding keys. IDE devised a mold design program, which
retained the distinctive shape of the left half, comprising the handset and cradle, while "swapping-out" the right side of the
case, where different sets of keys operate functions like two-line capability, conference calling, and speakerphone. This mold
design strategy, foreseen and accounted for in the earlier stages of design development and ideation, was executed without an
adverse effect to the product design language.Implementing The Design For Manufacturing
IDE's mechanical design engineers have extensive experience working with solid modeling software. Pro/ENGINEER parametric solids
modeling software was used to model and engineer the telephone cases, and check the entire assembly for internal component clearances. The lead industrial designer and lead mechanical engineer worked side-by-side to ensure that the design integrity of the approved concept was not lost in the development and manufacturing process. The fluid shape of the handset was developed in Rhinoceros 3D NURBS modeling software and then imported into Pro/Engineer. When feedback from the client revealed that customers desired a larger and deeper grip area, industrial designer Sean Horita and mechanical design engineer Doug Jones, were able to resolve the issue in a matter of hours.
Intelligibility and usability of a business telephone requires a solid grounding in the principles of well-engineered telecommunications
devices, including access to human-factors data on keypads and key shapes. Subtle placement cues for the keys worked within space
constraints to differentiate the central keypad from the smaller function keys, and the speed-dial window and keys were placed
along the right edge for access to the underlay sheet and efficient dialing. The LCD, message-waiting light, and relevant keys
were positioned along the ridge at the rear of the base, with their proximity to the display and graphical cues designed for
easy access to the phonebook and menu functions. Common sense, created with an eye for practicality, and the engineering
capability to make the desired, feasible, combined to create a smashing new line of business telephones.