SurfLink Mobile is the industry’s most unique and versatile cell phone solution.
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Logic PD, a product innovation and realization company for connected devices, is proud to announce that its design work on Starkey Hearing Technologies’ SurfLink® Mobile product is the recipient of the prestigious GOOD DESIGN® Award. The GOOD DESIGN Award is presented by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design together with Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd and given to the world’s leading designers to acknowledge creativity, modernization, advancement and outstanding products that stretch the boundaries of average design.
Working alongside the team at Starkey Hearing Technologies, a global leader in advanced hearing technologies, Logic PD helped design and develop SurfLink Mobile. The device is a cell phone transmitter, assistive listening device, media streamer and hearing aid remote all rolled into one. SurfLink Mobile turns a patient’s wireless hearing aids into both a phone receiver and a microphone, eliminating the need for a secondary body-worn relay device to stream sound and provide the ability to talk on a smartphone.
“This award is a testament to the innovation and hard work of the Starkey Hearing Technologies development team and Logic PD designers and engineers who saw connectivity and integration as an opportunity to streamline patients’ lives,” said Tim Trine, chief technical officer, Starkey Hearing Technologies. “The end product of this collaboration is a great example of how the power of design and technology can make a positive impact on people’s lives.”
Patient usability was the paramount concern throughout the design process. Logic PD and Starkey Hearing Technologies chose to utilize a user-centered design approach to study hearing aid patients to ensure that the end product would meet the functional needs of patients.
“Critical to the success of the product was adding the technology without adding complexity,” said Tim O’Brien, Chief Customer Officer, Logic PD. “We accomplished this by creating informed user interface models and conducting user validation testing to design, develop and manufacture a device that allows hearing aid patients a completely hands-free, mobile experience.”
From the information gathered, Logic PD engineers were able to determine design elements to ensure the device worked for real-world, everyday use. A crucial element of the product was making sure that each step of the design phase correlated with patient usability.
Additionally, it was important to evolve the aesthetics of a silver unit hearing aid remote that most patients were accustomed to using. The new look incorporates some design aspects of the remote, including similar icons and ergonomics, but integrates a touchscreen solution that meets the expectations of today’s technologically savvy consumer market.
Since its introduction in 2012, SurfLink Mobile has received worldwide accolades including CES 2013 Innovations Design and Engineering award and the red dot design award.
“While winning awards is always a ‘nice thing’ to have happen, the true measure was the rapid adoption by Starkey Hearing Technologies’ customers,” said O’Brien. “From the initial product discussions through the design and production process, it was an extraordinary experience to work alongside a company that keep their customer’s needs as the end goal.”
About GOOD DESIGN Awards Program
The annual GOOD DESIGN Awards Program recognizes the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world. For the 2014 award competition, the Museum received submissions from several thousand of the world’s leading manufacturers and industrial and graphic design firms from around the world representing the most important and influential corporations worldwide in the design industry from over 48 countries. All awards and winners are posted on the Museum’s website at www.chi-athenaeum.org.
About Starkey® Hearing Technologies
Starkey Hearing Technologies is a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The company is recognized for its innovative design, development and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. Founded in 1967, Starkey Hearing Technologies currently employs more than 3,600 people, operates 21 facilities and conducts business in more than 100 markets worldwide. The company develops, manufactures and distributes hearing aids via three distinct brands – Audibel, NuEar and its original brand, Starkey. For more information, visit www.starkey.com or the Starkey Expo Page on AudiologyOnline.
About Logic PD
Logic PD (www.logicpd.com, www.logicpdinsights.com) collaborates with clients to help them launch products that accelerate their growth and capture value. Logic PD provides services at any stage in the product lifecycle by being the complete product innovation and product realization company for connected devices in the world’s most demanding markets. With services in analytics and research; design, engineering and manufacturing; and product support services, Logic PD helps its clients identify opportunities, reduce risk, and control costs to deliver innovative products to market faster. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis, with offices in Boston and San Diego.
