How do you design a computer?

What does it take to build an outstanding business laptop? The latest, fastest, most power-efficient hardware helps, as do all-day battery life, advanced security and an incredible high-resolution screen. Yet, most importantly, it takes great design; the kind of design that can produce something as beautiful, lightweight and perfect for purpose as HP's EliteBook Folio 1020. Industrial Design Manager, Chad Paris, explains more.

For Chad, every design begins in the same way: "We use customer insights." A specialised team within HP, the Customer Marketing and Insights Group is constantly at work to, in Chad's words, "seek future trends, test ideas and validate concepts. This process is customised by HP to really get in touch with our end user and understand what drives consideration and experience."

HP leads by focusing on its customers and their evolving needs. "Competition is always a consideration" Chad explains, "but for us to leap ahead and move past a simple step function, we look to other industries, technologies, user experiences and unmet needs". "Keep in mind HP is a multifaceted company that is developing product and solutions for the consumer and the enterprise" he continues. "We create products that are great personal systems and we are also now leading in areas like blended reality." HP isn't just looking at present modes of computing, but at future modes where computing power, natural interfaces and new 3D scanners and displays all come together to blend the real and digital worlds. It might sound like sci-fi, but these ideas could transform the way we work, learn, create and play.

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How difficult is it to balance the needs of the user with the technical requirements of high performance? "Balance is a good word" says Chad. "We do an outstanding job of balancing IT needs with end user desirability. With the changing demographic, it is clear the user today is very different from those of the past. These new users were raised in a digital world. They want lighter, thinner, always on, full-day performance systems and they are willing to make trade-offs to get there."

Working closely with HP's engineering teams, Chad's design team has been able to deliver laptops that can last for up to 10 hours on a single charge, that have no moving parts, and yet can boast true PC-class connectivity and performance. The HP EliteBook Folio 1020 is ultra-slim, silent and cool to the touch, yet weighs in at just 1kg.

Throughout the design process, Paris's team collaborates with HP's Human Factor and Ergonomic teams to ensure that HP's new laptops will be comfortable and easy to use. Everything from the keyboard and touchpad to the location of the ports and the display goes through stage after stage of research, testing and refinement. As Chad says, "We have to be fanatical on usability. We develop devices that sell in education, government and public sectors that require perfect performance."

The single biggest challenge the design team faces is balancing beauty with robust build quality. "We have some of our most demanding customers on the commercial side" Chad notes. "From military to government and education, our products find themselves in the harshest of environments." Producing products that can cope comes down partly to a rigorous process of design and quality testing, ranging from drop tests to high-force compression, to ensure that components like the LCD display can withstand any likely situation. However, it's also a question of selecting the right materials, with Chad's team working closely with the R&D team to ensure that every metal, plastic and finish used works on both the structural and aesthetic levels.

"One could say 'material follows function'" says Chad, explaining that for a product that requires a super-lighweight chassis and military-level durability HP would use materials like Magnesium, while for an executive product, like the EliteBook Folio 1020, additional materials come into play. "One that is very popular is Aluminium", Chad notes, "which provides great structure and outstanding cosmetic value. Another material is our Magnesium Lithium. This specialised material is a fraction the weight of Aluminium but equal in strength." HP's R&D labs are constantly exploring new materials, not just to cover the needs of today's products, but the needs of products still in early development.

While Chad never stops balancing the needs of engineering and ergonomics, he never stops looking for ways to make HP's latest laptops more compelling, more eye-catching, and more distinctively HP. In the last few years, HP has adopted a common design language; an HP-wide approach that ensures HP's products maintain a consistent look and feel. "We call this approach PHI: progressive, harmonious, and iconic" says Chad. Yet inspiration also comes from a range of other sources. "From the Furniture Fair in Milan to automotive around the world, we seek out just about everything" he adds.

Take a look at the sleek lines of the new Elitebook Folio 1020, and it's easy to see what Chad means. Ultra-light and ergonomic, yet packed with the latest tech, it's a perfect combination of form, functionality and beautiful design. It might be HP's strongest statement yet, and there's a whole lot more to come.