fuseproject reimagines western digital hard drive as minimalist miniature

data is something that all of us accumulate at an accelerating pace, but ‘data’ is a superfluous word to describe the digital bits that represent personal memories, work, hobbies, and entertainment. the quantity of those bits, and our relationship to them, is changing from trusting the world with it, to wanting to safeguard and preserve it for ourselves and our families. so, how can the storage of personal data be refined to reflect these changes? 

this question drove fuseproject‘s partnership with western digital — the world’s leader in data storage. yves behar’s company worked with western digital to roadmap the future of the products and services that reflect new needs.

across digital experiences, web, packaging, and industrial design, fuseproject’s assignment is to create a cohesive design language that personifies these new principles. today people look to the cloud, store a wealth of personal data on social sharing websites, and leave scraps of ourselves wherever it feels most appropriate. western digital believe that the desire to access personal data; control it; and keep it private is a universal desire.

the first manifestation of this direction is through the latest versions of ‘mypassport’ and ‘mybook’ storage products. the monolithic rectangular blocks are reduced to their most minimal outer shapes: crisp edged boxes that efficiently package the technology inside and keep the overall product size to a minimum. the design language and point of focus is placed at the center of the product, with a soft waist transition that splits the composition in two halves. with a design split in two parts it expresses the tension between a personal and tactile object, and the seriousness of quality storage technology.

the base is a textured foundation while the top expresses a clean and minimal surface. these two parts meet halfway in a detail called ‘lifeline,’ the hidden intersection of these two separate worlds. eyes are drawn immediately from the edges to the product’s center. this approach is representing physically; functionally; and metaphorically the ideas in which the brand lives.

because ‘mypassport’ products are made to travel, fuseproject made them come to life with a vibrant color palette. to make these products feel more personal is a stark contrast with the current landscape of blacks and blues in the hard drive category. however ‘unsexy’ the world of data is currently, and how it is viewed as commodity, this design language is meant to amplify the personal connection to data. western digital is leading with the idea that design can bring a personal touch to the digital life.