Gazelle

Creating product differentiation and IP in a saturated commodity market.

The Need

The office equipment market had become saturated with retailer own label and cheap vendor sourced devices that barely serviced the requirements of the user through both poor quality and cost cutting of features.

  • Services
    • Conceptual Design
    • Aesthetic Styling
    • Ergonomics
    • Industrial Design
    • Prototyping
    • Mechanical Engineering
    • FEA Analysis
    • Documentation
  • Technologies
    • Staple Indicator
    • 3 in 1 docking station
    • Name plate
    • Superior Ergonomics & Semantics
  • Client
    • Acco Rexel
    • Launched 2006

The Acco Gazelle stapler and dock were born from the need to produce a product that truly understood the requirements of the user and at the same time defined Acco as a manufacturer of premium office products, creating a real point of difference within a congested market.

Our Response

Our team worked closely with consumer groups to gain an insight into what they wanted from a product that they usually gave little though to – these insights were invaluable in informing our design process and helped us pinpoint specific consumer pain points that could be met through creative solutions.

Many consumers spoke of the frustration in going to use their product only to find it was empty, then trying to locate a supply of staples. Others felt a need to personalise their stapler with their name/dept in permanent ink, correction fluid and clear tape, in order to keep track of it and prevent theft by others. Locating the device, and having a permanent location for it was also an issue.

The challenge and sense of achievement seeing products we design succeed for our customers gets us out of bed in the morning.

The Result

The Gazelle provided the foundation for a range of premium desktop office products from Acco. They were all manufactured from durable and robust materials, incorporated labour saving features such as a name tag system, a staple quantity indicator, spare staples and a docking station that elevated the product to the same status as a mobile phone or MP3 player docked product and provided a permanent location for the device.

These were all new, and patentable, features that would revolutionise the user experience and elevate the product off of the catalogue page. Additionally, consumer perception of Acco increased in value as they became seen as a consumer-centric and innovative brand.