Brio 500 is the next generation of personal webcams designed to support remote working and collaboration. The Logitech team identified opportunities to improve the work-from-home experience. Hardware and software solutions combine to address healthier postures, privacy that is clearly visible at a distance, document mode for sharing analog content, and auto light correction for variable working environments. The camera’s design complements home and modern workplace environments. The webcam design is natural and honest with color, materials, and finish (CMF) that celebrates the use of recycled PCR plastics.
In response to a period with little innovation in the webcam and personal video collaboration space along with an increased need to support office workers suddenly working remotely, the designers saw an opportunity to create new products to meet this moment. They also realized this moment would extend into the future as hybrid work took hold for good. They call this “the new logic of work.” And they set out to design new video collaboration products for new workspaces, not just filling a gap but enabling new collaborative experiences.
Work environments are evolving from traditional office settings to people’s homes, personal offices, flex spaces, and shared workspaces. The design team sees an opportunity here to align business tools to consumer preferences and home environments while still addressing the requirements of a traditional office space. With Brio 500, a cylindrical form factor leans slightly away from office expectations and toward the aesthetic of home furniture and lighting fixtures. The specked material creates a second read, highlighting the post-consumer recycled plastic used in the product.
They designed Brio 500 for easy, one-hand operation. They started by re-imagining a mount to use microsuction padding to securely bond with the monitor when in use – yet is removable, cleanable, and reusable. This approach creates a stable platform that allows the camera to be rotated downward to show sketches and physical objects – while remaining securely attached to the monitor. In addition to the mount we also redesigned the privacy shutter as an integrated element of the form factor, not a separate component that can be lost or forgotten. It is easy to close and designed with a contrasting color that makes it visible at a distance.
While webcams are not a new product category, the hardware and software innovations built into this camera breathe new life into the product experience as a whole. Users will appreciate the attention to privacy, they will feel enabled through the Show Mode feature that lets them share physical documents, and they will feel confident when accurately represented on video by our RightSight auto-framing technology. The design team’s goal was to create a product that lets users connect and collaborate from a distance – whether at home, in the office, or while traveling.
In creating a product with broad appeal, they thought deliberately about the broader impact on the planet. The team worked to qualify new post-consumer recycled plastic materials that would be simple to manufacture, that would avoid the use of post processes like paint, and that would be easy to disassemble at the product’s end of life. They also worked to create more compact packaging using FSC-certified paper while reducing materials and airspace to further minimize the impact of global shipping.
Category:ElectronicsYear:2023Designer:Logitech Design Team Americas, Logitech, Newark, California, USAManufacturer:Logitech, Newark, California, USA