Adding value by design

You might wonder how Océ designed the great look and feel of the new Colorado printer. Or how Océ PRISMA applications are so user-friendly. A lot of that is thanks to the magic of Océ Design, an integral part of Océ Research and Development (R&D). The design team works with product development teams and is responsible for the design and usability of all Océ products – hardware, software, apps and even packaging. Their award-winning design style and user-focused approach is what makes Océ products so desirable and useful to customers.

Consistent, beautiful and easy to grasp

The Océ design philosophy is to implement consistent, user-friendly design across all products. User interface design at Océ is all based on the award-winning design platform OCEAN, for instance. Carlijn Compen, Head of Design at Océ: “If our products look and feel the same, customers can easily learn how to use a new machine or piece of software. It also makes our development more efficient, and it helps in selling our solutions.”

Brave enough to make choices

In product development, too, good design is essential. The first Océ products with a completely new product design are entering the market in 2017, and they are already raking in awards.

Océ success depends on knowing what customers need, want and like. Carlijn: “The challenge is that people usually don’t know what they need. Consistent, beautiful and easy to grasp. The goal of Océ Design is twofold. We develop designs that will make customers want to buy and use our products, and use them as much as possible. Finding out what customers and users need is a real skill: one we specialize in.”

“Our job is to uncover these hidden needs and translate them into design proposals. As a designer, you need to be brave enough to make choices. But you can only make the right choice if you understand what people need.”

Looking for the next green button

“Our history is in walk-up printing; people like you and me who occasionally make a print,” says Carlijn. “People who use a printer like this just want to hit the big green button and get the result they want, without having to deal with any complicated settings.”

In the markets we are now active in, users need more options and control. Océ Design still strives to give them their version of the big green button; simplicity that gets you what you want, even if what you want is an advanced feature.

Keeping up in the fast-paced design world

Good design is an ever-moving target, where it’s important to keep up with trends while ensuring consistency. New technologies and products, such as smartphones, affect what customers expect from suppliers like Océ. To keep up, Océ designers visit conferences and trade shows, and work with universities, students and customers. Because , to know what customers want, you have to put yourself in their shoes.

The kind of work you cannot do by phone

Océ Design is largely based in Venlo, the Netherlands. But they do work a lot with other sites. Two coleagues are stationed in Timisoara, Rumania, and others travel on a regular basis to Poing, Germany and Créteil, France, for example.

iF Awards

The iF Awards are among the world’s most valued design awards, recognized as a symbol of design excellence. Océ has won more than 30 awards in the past 40 years. Recent innovations awarded include: OCEAN user interface design style, Océ Colorado 1640, Océ ProStream 1000, Océ PlotWave 500 (Gold award), Océ ColorWave 500/700 and Océ ColorWave 900.