2007 B&D VPX

Since I was the first designer involved in the project, I was able to create an internal branding identity and logo, which was successful enough to make it into the final production and branding designs.

During the summer of 2006, it became clear to the BDK product teams that we would have to support a Lithium-Ion batter platform in order to remain competitive among our buyers. There was much debate internally about how best to go about this–be it another 14V or 18V slide pack, or a less-conventional pack–and consequently industrial design was involved from the very beginning stages.

Snowboarding and ski gear was a major source of inspiration, since the language it uses already communicates the core-values we were trying to associate with the product: youth, vigor, durability, and fun.

The project was assigned to me, and I began exploration of various types of battery platforms, and illustrating the various advantages of each for the involved parties in engineering and marketing. It quickly became clear that we needed to do something distinctive and uniquely Black & Decker. This led us to design a platform based on the now-aging “Versa-Pak” line. After long deliberation and lots of development work, we developed a 7.2V scheme flexible enough to work in a wide variety of tools and applications.

We wanted for the over-molded handles on the products to be reminiscent of shoe soles, a tactile way of communicating high-performance comfort.

We also looked at gear from other sports that emphasize high performance and light-weight, such as cycling, tennis, F-1, and even golf. This was particularly important, because the tools would be expensive, and we needed to communicate that the product was valuable beyond brute-force.

One of my favorite parts of these early phases was the design of the battery interface itself. How should the battery be attached to the tool in a unique and compelling way, given all of the various convenience, flexibility, safety, and compliance concerns? I worked closely with engineers to develop the final result.

Early concept sketches, depicting a single-cell battery scheme alternative. We explored literally dozens of possibly ways of connecting batteries into/on/around a tool.

In early 2007, I partnered with Tom Murray to begin development of the tools and chargers themselves. We would work very collaboratively to develop a coherent “language,” but would each spearhead a different set of tools. I would be in charge of the chargers, the 14.4V drill, and the auxiliary power source. Tom took the lead on the 7.2V screwdriver, drill, flashlight, and “cut-saw”. Developing the design conventions used across the board was challenging, but each product presented significant challenges of its own.

Early sketches for the charging station. The idea of “daisy-chaining” the chargers came much later, during a brainstorming meeting. I had wanted a way to reiterate the idea that the batteries can be strung together in a tool to make a more powerful tool. Why not make chargers that can be strung together in a similar fashion?

After weeks of sketching and illustrator rendering, it was clear that we needed to get into 3D. The forms we were exploring, however, were difficult to manipulate efficiently in digital 3D, and we found that foam and clay worked much better. Once the forms were developed this way, we re-built them in CATIA for tweaking.

If the designs seem a bit “busy,” it’s actually for a reason. One of the difficult challenges in designing this system was creating a perception that the product is compact and lightweight, even though the tools themselves are really not dimensionally that much smaller than other comparable products (though they are significantly lighter). We tried to use the orange stripe to direct the eye downward and hopefully break up and distract from the length of the drill.

The VPX program was one of the most rewarding of my career thus far. The troubled economy following its release certainly didn’t help it’s performance in the marketplace, and certain cost-saving measures–such as the omission of a variable-speed trigger in the 7.2V screwdriver–made it difficult to justify the high price-points required by Lithium-Ion cells. Still, I’m proud to have worked with the team on this project.

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