Whipsaw

Whipsaw

business woman walking up stairs at WhipSaw Headquarters

Whipsaw

business woman walking up stairs at WhipSaw Headquarters

About

Whipsaw is an Industrial Design, UX and Engineering consulting firm with studios in San Jose and San Francisco, California. Whipsaw is known for creating smart, unique and intuitive product solutions that profoundly connect with end users on both a rational and emotional level. They are also known for consistently creating popular products that dominate their market niche, which makes their clients ecstatic and very successful. Whipsaw’s clients range from startups to large corporations in many diverse industries including consumer electronics, housewares, wearables, medical, robotics, scientific, commercial, networking, communication and computing products.

Founded in 1999 by Dan Harden (President/CEO) and Bob Riccomini (CTO), Whipsaw is now a staff of 45 and has become one of the most acclaimed design agencies in the world. Over 500 Whipsaw-designed products have shipped to market, many of which became big market hits. Some of these hits include the Brita Stream water pitcher line, Google’s OnHub, Wifi and Chromecast, Nest Dropcam cameras, the Nike FuelBand, the Dell Precision line, Neato robots, Cisco’s Telepresence line, Linksys router line, Livescribe smart pens, Eton emergency radios, Adiri baby bottles, Yubo lunch boxes, Leapfrog LeapPads, Roku TV boxes, Aristocrat slot machines, Highfive teleconferencing systems, Tascent Insight One, Topcon survey equipment, and over fifty TP-Link networking devices.

Project Portfolio

Blumio

Blood pressure is the single best indicator of general health, however blood pressure monitoring devices are cumbersome and uncomfortable. Blumio conceived of a new type of monitor that uses small radar sensors to measure blood pressure instead of the conventional air pump cuff that squeezes the arm. There are many advantages to Blumio’s radar technology including offering real-time constant BP monitoring with a paired app; more comfort because it does not inflate; and the digital results are more accurate. Our design challenge was to configure this new technology into a form factor and usability model that end users would appreciate, and that would define this new product paradigm.

Our design solution is a seamless fabric armband that has a pocket in the end, which contains a thin and flexible electronic sensing unit. To separate the electronic unit from the armband for cleaning, the armband strap grommet pulls apart like a snap to access the electronic unit. When Blumio is on you barely notice it but if you want to show it off it sure looks cool.

Brita Stream Water Pitchers

Stream is a completely new and innovative water pitcher line for Brita. Unlike the original Brita pitchers that you fill and wait to drink, the new Stream Cascade, Rapids and Hydro pitchers “filter-as-you-pour”. The filter is suspended directly under the spout, allowing all water to exit cleanly, and for all the water in the pitcher to be visible at all times. The replaceable filter pops out of the filter holder in a snap. All models are extremely comfortable to hold and pour, and easily fit in a refrigerator door. The form of each pitcher is intended to suggest rapid water flow, which is a primary selling point. The appearance also needed to be universally appealing since almost every user demographic buys these products. Stream is rapidly becoming one of Brita’s best-selling pitcher lines.

Dell Precision

The Precision T series is Dell’s new high performance workstation line, aimed at prosumers and professionals that require high performance computing such as CAD or CG. Precision is a ground-up design with an all new efficient component layout and brand new look by Whipsaw. We sought to create a clean, purposeful and powerful design, befitting of its capabilities and to project confidence to its demanding users. The machines require abundant air flow to cool, so we invented a diamond perforated pattern that is 85% open but because of its louvered 3d geometry you can’t see directly through it. Two thick aluminum handles make it easy to carry and all access is through a big side door. The interiors are much cleaner than the previous generation and drive bays and power supplies are now tool-less.

Dropcam

Pro is Dropcam’s high end Wi-Fi video camera for monitoring one’s home. Live video streams directly to the cloud and then to any computer or smartphone so you can keep an eye on your kids, pets, or valuable property. It can be pointed anywhere at any subject with its unique three-axis tilt/swivel/camera rotation feature. Pro features improved resolution, easier setup, and better night vision compared to the first generation camera, also designed by Whipsaw. Pro has been singled out as one of the best smart home products of our times, noted for its ease of use, functionality and attractive design. Dropcam was purchased by Google in May, 2014 for 555 million dollars, proving once again the power of good design.

Google Suite

Whipsaw designed the Google Chromecast, OnHub, and Wifi, all of which became best-selling products. Chromecast is a $35 digital media player that streams online video, music and more to your TV using your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Google OnHub is a connected home hub router that is both elegant and functional, featuring a tapered cylinder bamboo shroud, a radial antenna array, soft lighting, and improved cooling. The Google Wifi is a new type of connected mesh system that replaces your router and brings seamless signal coverage throughout your whole home to optimize multiple devices streaming, downloading, and sharing at the same time.

Leitz Package

The Leitz Icon is a label printer we designed and these are the consumable label cartridges for that printer. Each cartridge contains a 22-meter-long adhesive label roll, offered in four widths. A core objective was to create an environmentally responsible solution, so the cartridges are made of recycled thermo-formed paper pulp. This robust natural material serves as both the cartridge body as well as its own protective shipping box. The green “visor”, made of recyclable plastic, is a multi-purpose paper handling detail. It hinges up during installation to provide the paper-to-print head interface, eliminating the need for manual paper feeding like other printers. A tiny NV RAM chip in this visor communicates roll size to the printer and remaining label quantity to the user. Just drop it in, close the door and print. Never before has a printer offered this kind of convenience and environmental sensibility.