Dedao Focus7 eReader by William Volcoff and Yawei Zhang

Dedao Focus7 eReader by William Volcoff and Yawei Zhang is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award an Bronze in Digital an Elektronesch Apparater Design Competition Category.

BronzeKonsumentenelektronik· 2023

Dedao Focus7 eReader

by William Volcoff and Yawei Zhang

Client: Dedao (Tianjin) Culture & Communication Co., Ltd.

A' Design Award an Bronze Winner in Konsumentenelektronik Category

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Colors

The Design

About Dedao Focus7 eReader

Den Dedao Focus7 ass en eReader, deen entwéckelt gouf fir Liesere, déi de Gefill vun engem gedrénkte Buch ze schätzen wëssen. De Kader ass aus enger Aluminiumlegierung, déi duerch CNC-Bearbechtung geformt gëtt, an d'anodiséiert Uewerfläch ass resistent géint Rutschen, Ofnotzung an Korrosioun. D'Form erënnert un eng gefaltent Säit, eng vertraut Geste fir d'Liesen ze paus. Den 7-Zoll E-Ink-Bildschierm huet Glas mat Anti-Blend-Effekt an eng Antifangerofdrock-Beschichtung. Mat engem Gewiicht vun 210 Gramm läit hien no bei deem vun engem Taschebuch, an d'ausgeglach Struktur reduzéiert d'Belaaschtung vum Handgelenk. D'Verpackung ass ouni Tënt, ouni Plastik a gëtt aus ofbaubarer Zellstoff hiergestallt.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award an Bronze

Dedao Focus7 eReader ass e Gewënner vum A' Design Award an Bronze, enger héich prestigiéiser Unerkennung, déi un erausragend Designe vergi gëtt, déi sech duerch Kreativitéit, Erfindungsgab a Schlauheet ausgezeechnen. Bronze-Gewënner si voll Fäegkeet a opfälleg kreativ Wierker, déi déi grouss Erfahrung, d'Fantasie an d'Ressourceréichtum vun hire Designer bestätegen. Et gëtt erwaart, datt Dedao Focus7 eReader e héich geschätzt, bewonnert a beléifte Géigestand ass, bemierkenswäert professionell an innovativ. Dëst mam Bronze ausgezeechent Design integréiert déi beschte Praktike vun der Konscht, der Wëssenschaft, vum Design an der Technologie an zeechent sech duerch Opmierksamkeet fir Detailer aus. Dedao Focus7 eReader erfëllt Bedierfnesser exzellent, beréiert Wënsch, bezauberet Gefiller an erweckt Neigierecht.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Focus 7 eReader aims at book enthusiasts seeking meaningful aesthetics in their products.
Focus 7 eReader reconnects you with the pleasure of holding a paper book. Subtle elements in the design symbolize this connection and leverage the overall reading experience.
Dimensions & Packaging: Screen: E Ink with 300 ppi / Antigloss TP glass top + anti finger print coating,
Specs: USB Type-C / Quad Cortex-A55 at 1.8GHz / Android 11 / 2GB RAM + 64GB ROM
eReader Weight: 210 grams
eReader size: 159*140.7*10 mm
Packaging size: 16.5 x 18.5 x 3 cm
10 weeks battery on sleeping mode.
3.5 days battery on full use.
2 weeks battery with 1h use per day.
Tags: ereader, tablet, book, eInk, CNC, aluminium,
Production Technology: The whole frame is made of aluminium alloy using CNC processing. The anodized surface is anti-slippery, wear and corrosion resistant. The fully integrated structure places the centre of gravity inclined to the hand-held side, greatly reducing the wrist pain of long-term use.
The 7-inch screen -mimicking pocket-book size- is ideal for students, office workers and regular readers. It boasts a double coating to prevent fingerprint residue and reduce environmental reflection. The ultra-thin glass backboard is anti-slippery, durable and provides similar tactile feedback as paper.
The entire ink-free and plastic-free packaging is made of degradable pulp grouting process. It is environmentally friendly, and degradable. The eReader weighs like a pocket book (210grm) to enhance further the reading experience.
Design Challenge: Our key creative challenge was to differentiate our design without losing on the ergonomics. eReader are usually very sleek and minimalist in their design language. We didn't want to add decorative elements yet we wanted to add elements to visually connect to the universe of books. Traditional books have a tactile sensuality when flipping through pages, these lines created by each pages are our common memories framing the entire reading experience. We kept these lines to give extra tactile feedback to Dedao readers.
Research: Our research process was rather traditional and down-to-earth to match our client's basic understanding of design. Pushing too much innovation would have scared off their marketing team and alienated their engineers against our design intentions. We worked closely with their production team to solve any potential production issues.
The Covid19 situation in China didn't really help us to meet face-to-face and set-up well organized interviews with group users. We had to change plans due to the massive lock down in Shanghai. We organized online questionnaires through Dedao massive online network to target 3 millions of their users and get some key insights regarding daily usage, key issues with current tablets and key advantages of competitors. To get useful insights, we decided to reach out to people using e-reader from competitors as well as users of Dedao tablets. It was very obvious to see the differences between users and where their needs matched.
Inspiration: Folding a page or the whole book is one of the most usual gesture we do while pausing our reading. The shape of a folding book represents this on-going process put on hold. It is also an invitation to restart the reading, a visual trigger to bring us back to a different world.
Project Duration: The project started in November 2021 in Shanghai and finished in April 2021 in Shenzhen after final confirmation with all production sites and suppliers. The eReader is going to be launch this October 2022 in China during Dedao annual conference and will be available from November 2022.
Operation Flow: On/Off button to start. Full touch screen to navigate the various menus and settings. Screen back light could be changed to adjust night reading situation.
Patents: Patent Pending. Patent No 202230506231.5. Dedao (Tianjin) Culture & Education Co., Ltd.
Team Members: William Volcoff, Yawei Zhang, Shuangtian Lu, Bastien Henry, Yiming Zhou, Xiaosong Wu, Xilun Cao