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Dell has been long been the Ugly Betty of the PC industry–functional, smart but severely lacking in the looks department.

But over the last two years, the company’s consumer-targeted PCs have gotten a design makeover that would make Tyra Banks proud. Dell’s latest machines offers sleek designs; unusual materials such as fabric, bamboo and leather; and striking covers designed by graffiti artists. 

"You are seeing the switch from total utilitarian, speed-and-specs kind of thinking to something that will fit the personality of consumer," says Ed Boyd, vice president of consumer products at Dell. "It’s the same transformation you saw in cellphone and the automotive industry."

The former global creative director for Nike, Boyd has helped build Dell’s consumer division into a design powerhouse, churning out products that the company hopes will put it ahead of rivals and bring in consumers who want both style and value in their PCs.

The commitment to better design comes at a challenging time for Dell. Dell’s personal computer shipments fell 16.7 percent worldwide in the
first quarter from a year ago. In the United States alone, Dell shipments fell 16.2 percent, according to research firm IDC.  Meanwhile, Dell’s rival Hewlett Packard increased U.S. shipments 2.9 percent worldwide and 12.2 percent. Dell now ranks second to HP in terms of overall market share in the United States.

In focusing on design, Dell is making a risky bet. Better design could help rejuvenate consumer interest in the company’s products — or it could add to costs and make its products pricey at a time when consumers are rushing in droves to buy inexpensive netbooks.

Meanwhile, driven by Apple’s focus on design, customers are increasingly
looking for products that are stylish yet offer value, says Craig
Vogel, associate dean and professor of design studies at University of
Cincinnati.

"The design of the iPod and the iPhone has driven sales to Apple’s computers, which is something that other companies have noticed," says Vogel. "Design is not an option anymore, the marketplace is demanding it."

It took the clout of Dell founder Michael Dell to get the frumpy, utilitarian PC maker more focused on style. Two years ago, Michael Dell stepped back into the CEO seat to take over a company that seemed to be in danger of losing its luster. Dell’s much-admired efficient supply chain process no longer seemed enough to put the company ahead of its competitors. Dell’s customers were beginning to balk at the company’s bulky machines.

"Nineteen months ago, Michael told me the horse that we rode so far wasn’t going to take us to the next level," Boyd says. "Design was going to have to play a much bigger role at Dell."

As the first step, Michael Dell brought on Ron Garriques, the former Motorola executive credited with the success of the RAZR phone, as the president of Dell’s consumer products.

Garriques, in turn, has attracted star designers like Boyd and helped put together a design team that is growing fast. Five years ago, Dell had just about half a dozen designers on its team. Today the company has 130 members on the team. They include a behavioral and cognitive psychologists, usability experts, former designer from companies such as furniture maker Herman Miller and auto maker GM.

There have also been changes to how Dell has organized its design teams. "Earlier, design reported to engineering and marketing," says Michael Smith, who has been part of Dell’s design team since 2003. "But now it is becoming its own entity with equal footing."

The moves have helped Dell get more fashionable, fast. Most conspicuously, the company is experimenting with different materials and finishes. The company’s Studio XPS 13 and 16 laptops use leather trims. The Studio hybrid desktop offers an optional bamboo casing, and the Studio One 19 PC — aka the ‘kitchen PC’ — can come with a fabric panel that fits around the display.

Many of the design improvements have to do with the outermost surface of the Dell’s computers, and that doesn’t go deep enough for at least one industrial designer.

"Dell needs to treat design as something that is not superficial," says
Max Burton, executive creative director for Frog Design in San
Francisco. "What they have right now is more of applique design — [it's]
more about finishes than real change to the materials and process."

But Dell execs say that their focus on design means more than just looks. For example, a Dell Studio hybrid desktop launched in the last year uses 70 percent less material and power than older desktop models, says Boyd.

Design improvements do not have to come out of the consumers’
pockets, says Boyd. It’s about making the right tradeoffs. "We can
take out the non-value-adding functionality, such as too many
connectors, and put value where people find it," he says.

For instance,
designers removed an external button for turning Wi-Fi on and off in
the Dell XPS 1330 laptop. Now users have to go through the software
program to do it. "That’s money I save," says Boyd, "and give it back
to the customer in the form of lower prices or better finish."

"When we do put more money into the finishes and industrial design, we don’t do that arbitrarily," says Boyd. "In those products we see a spike in sales, as in the redesign of the Studio XPS line."

Boyd has also helped the team improve on such things as packaging and accessories, says Smith. Adamo, for instance, comes in a clear package and offers optional accessories such as tote bags from Tumi.

All that may not be enough. Design experts such as Vogel and Burton say Dell needs to take a chapter out of Apple’s playbook. For instance, Apple’s latest Macbook, introduced last year, has a body whose main part is machined from a solid piece of aluminum. It allows for lightweight, yet sturdy, machines and better design.

"The innovation with the aluminum is a big step ahead in terms of process and design especially when Dell is still using injection-molded plastic in many of its machines," says Burton.

That kind of fundamental change in how Dell approaches design could take much longer. For now Dell is walking a tightrope — trying to please its flock that is price-sensitive, even as it tries to court the fashionistas. It’s a feat not many designers have been able to pull off.

See also:
Dell’s New Notebooks Take Design Seriously
Bamboo-zled: Eco Veneers Storm the Design World

Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

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