As electronic engineers in the Singapore research and development facility of Esco Micro Pte. Ltd. were improving the company’s suite of digital controllers, Esco asked OffWhite to create a new control panel design consistent with the emerging global brand strategy initiated by OffWhite in 2006.

 

Because the controllers would be used throughout the entire Esco product line of biosafety cabinets, fume hoods, animal containment workstations and other controlled airflow equipment, the OffWhite challenge was to create a universal look within the Esco brand family, yet within the physical constraints of the Esco cabinet clearance and maintenance allowances.

 

Making the transition from graphic design and industrial design, OffWhite created a series of sub-brands to differentiate performance levels of each controller.  Throughout the project, OffWhite used CAD drawings and snapshots to properly orient hard contact points on the control superstructure, eventually arranging the pressure-sensitive membrane touchpads within a logical sequence from one controller to the next.

 

Physical designs were matched with graphical expression and sub-brands to communicate different levels of control sophistication and data management. Once preliminary designs were circulated throughout the company’s offices in Singapore, Indonesia and China, OffWhite posted final graphic files to the OffWhite FTP server for acquisition by vendors in several ASEAN nations. Because the files were relatively large and required for use in several geographic locations, the OffWhite FTP server provided an ideal platform for concurrent acquisition by multiple vendors.

 

Because the company operates in more than 105 countries, the files can easily accommodate controller translations to multiple languages as required.

 

The Sentinel look will expand to additional control panels for new product lines now in development.

 

OffWhite/Salter brings a unique perspective to the transitions necessary for brand management through both graphic and industrial design.