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Belkin has become a world leader in the design and manufacture of smart home electronics and computer peripherals, but it hasn't always been that way...
At Karten Design, a multidisciplinary strike team of designers and engineers was assembled to infuse the Belkin product line with a dose of world-class design, their bulk computer cables were the first recipients of an all new boundary pushing design language.
I was fortunate to have been a member of that design team...
Why Redesign?
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fbdb42fd-c9a6-41a1-95df-d98bf1cda36c/9b0ea1bb-f5b4-4382-a59a-83bf0932b936_rw_1200.jpg?h=5b1d8d070829c1bdaa858ad7163a8857)
Remember these? Sold in plastic bags at Fry's? Yeah, this is really what they looked like.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fbdb42fd-c9a6-41a1-95df-d98bf1cda36c/046449a3-9861-4c5d-a50f-6a002732936e_rw_1200.jpg?h=3a30eb56ba1f376a4995e091102e8ed3)
The redesigned product. Same technical specs as the original, now easier on the eyes.
Generic styling with little to no family resemblance within the product line.
Diminished market share as a result of too many 'copy cat' manufacturers.
How did we go about redesigning a product that had no inherent personality? By creating one of our own of course! After exploring and rejecting the most predictable solutions, our design team focused on a direction much more cerebral...literally!
'Make them personify synaptic connections!' we said...
concept development
Many directions were considered, some more literal than others!
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fbdb42fd-c9a6-41a1-95df-d98bf1cda36c/d70eceae-e650-4ad7-b0ff-26c1667609a0_rw_1200.jpg?h=6faf228c3bf00f248cabace7484f3595)
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![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fbdb42fd-c9a6-41a1-95df-d98bf1cda36c/53398bca-288f-4536-b007-e9a85dda282e_rw_1200.jpg?h=34f37c4a6f2bb1d7da6cec326522fb00)
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![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fbdb42fd-c9a6-41a1-95df-d98bf1cda36c/92e5b940-b7e5-4ee6-a066-41ef7c9fe197_rw_1200.jpg?h=6c86f4ce39ddaa143042c37c872fa146)
manufacture
With teamwork and clear vision the design team at Karten inject the Belkin product line with a shiny new personality. Behold...Digital Neurotransmitters!
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fbdb42fd-c9a6-41a1-95df-d98bf1cda36c/4e12f96e-5bf6-401a-875b-dc6fc94afb3c_rw_1200.jpg?h=c4b9132b53a1efbbfd30b589bff9186f)