[Design Story] The Deeper Meaning of Design: Samsung’s MX Series of Printers

Great design is about a lot more than just looking good. At its best, design is about function, quality, innovation and values. It transcends fads and the superficial to suggest something deeper. It needs to promise consumers that the product they are buying is thoughtfully and well made, functional and the best user-experience possible.

This customer-focused approach to design can be seen vividly in Samsung’s award-winning MultiXpress (MX) series of printers. To make a great printer, the design team at Samsung decided to go back to the basics and redesign the very concept of a printer.

A Design Identity Based on 2 Key Principles

In creating the MX series of printers, the design team focused on two core principles: redefining what people expect from a printer and optimizing for the mobile office environment.
Those practical design goals, chosen to emphasis building trust with consumers, led to two major innovations: the Split Design and the Smart UX Center.

The MX Series’ unique Split Design separates the interface (where users operate the printer) from the box (where the paper and paper feed mechanisms are). Each section comes in a different but attractive color, which is aesthetically pleasing and a good fit for the office environment. The Split also allows for a more ergonomic design, so users don’t have to bend over so far to retrieve their printouts, giving the entire printer a sleek, clean look.

The Smart UX Center means a huge change from the simplistic buttons printers typically have. With a touch-screen panel and running on the Android OS (the first printer to do so), users gain far more options and flexibility than ever before. The Smart UX Center puts the full power of this technology into the hands of users, creating the optimal versatility demanded by today’s office environment. You don’t even need a computer anymore to edit or print your documents and photographs. Just download Samsung’s Mobile Print App, and you will be able to print directly from your tablet or mobile device.

More than Skin Deep

Beauty is much more than skin deep. Great design must evoke quality and values, and then fulfill those promises. The MX Series of printers is the result of that deep approach to design, creating a line of printers completely focused on our customers’ needs. Don’t take our word for it—the prestigious International Forum Design Awards made the MX4 the first A3 copier ever to win their iF Gold Award.

That’s the sort of recognition that only comes from Samsung’s relentless focus on its customers. So when we talk about design, we’re not just talking about how something works. We mean trust and functionality. And those are features that never go out of style.