Linksys, a division of Cisco, and the recognised leading global manufacturer of voice, wireless, and networking hardware for home, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO), on Thursday opened the Linksys European Design Center in Denmark.

The center will help drive the design vision and development for future Linksys consumer products.

The highly creative and inspiring design studio is located outside Copenhagen and is positioned to create best-in-class design, with designers from several design disciplines and countries, said a company official.

In addition to the visionary design work, the European Design Center will also be a place where research will be conducted to help understand consumer trends, cultural differences and market requirements. This will help with incorporating design into the product development process.  

“Consumers are becoming more design conscious and design savvy than ever before,” said Mohammad Hoda, regional manager, Linksys Middle East and Africa.

About the new location, Hoda said, 'Denmark was an obvious choice since the long and successful design tradition in Scandinavia is a solid platform to build from. The Design Center has the knowledge and experience in-house today to be successful.'

The Linksys European Design Center will drive the design vision and development of all Linksys consumer products using a holistic approach.

Besides the industrial design, the team will also focus on the interaction between the product and the customer to work on the full customer experience from purchase to set up to use.

“We see design as more than simply designing a product; it includes the packaging, product, interaction, user interface and customer service. The European Design Center will have an important role in defining the overall user experience for every product, how it works, acts, reacts, feels and looks,” Hoda noted.

The first projects that the European Design team worked on were a number of home networking products that have been introduced recently including the new sleek design of the home routers.

The European design team is currently involved in more than 15 different design projects including new product categories. Each of the six employees has a specialisation in one or more areas to bring successful concepts to life.

'The studio is for example equipped with a 3D-model printer to enable quick evaluation of design concepts instead of outsourcing this process to a third party. Tools like these enable the European design team and the US team to work seamlessly together even with the distance barrier and time zone difference.'

The establishment of the European Design Center shows the commitment Linksys has to the aesthetics and user experience of its consumer infrastructure and entertainment networking products, Hoda added.-TradeArabia News Service