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Draft:David Hill (designer)

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David Hill
Hill in 2018
Born (1957-05-15) May 15, 1957 (age 68)
Wilmington, Delaware
OccupationIndustrial Designer
Notable workDesign of the ThinkPad
Websitedwhilldesign.com

David Wayne Hill (born May 15, 1957) is an American industrial designer known for his work on the design of the ThinkPad.[1] His design style includes concepts like "purposeful evolution" which was used on the ThinkPad line to maintain a consistent and recognizable design even as features and technology changed.[2][3][4] He worked as a designer at IBM from 1985 until the 2005 acquisition of their PC business by Lenovo, where he continued until 2017.[5] Afterwards he founded a design consulting business. He is currently an advisor to the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design.[6] David holds over 60 issued design and utility patents. In 2018, David was named a Distinguished Alumnus from the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design.[7][8]

Early life

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David Hill grew up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where his father was a research chemist. From a young age, he built machines with cardboard, wooden blocks and Tinker Toys. As a teenager he developed a keen interest in motorcycles, which he continued to restore and race in his adult life.[9] David attended Oklahoma State University from 1975-1978 studying architecture in the School of Engineering. He then studied industrial design at Kansas University under Professor Downer Dykes in graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1982. In 1981, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the International Design Conference in Aspen, Colorado where he first encountered Richard Sapper and was impressed by Sapper's grounded approach.[9] David won a IDSA Student Merit Award in 1982 for promise in the field of industrial design.[10]

Career

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Hill worked for the design consulting firm Baugh-Deines Incorporated, Design Consultants based in Wichita from 1983 to 1985.[11] Hill designed for several clients including Coleman, receiving a patent for a hand held light.[12]

1985-2005: IBM

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Hill's career at IBM began in 1985 in the minicomputer division in Rochester, Minnesota, where he designed large machines. He later worked as a Senior Industrial Designer in the AS/400 Division.[11] He also designed a computer display, an electronic clipboard for diagnostic work on mainframe computers.[9] In 1989, Hill, designed the symbols for the following types of Local Area Network (LAN) connections: IEEE 802.5 (Token Ring), IEEE 802.4 (Token Bus) and IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet).[13][14] In 1995 he would become the Manager of Industrial Design for the AS/400 Division the same year he became Director of Personal Systems Group Design[15].

Hill was involved in the design of ThinkPad as the manager of Design for the Personal Systems Group and later the manager of Market Research and Worldwide Intelligence for the IBM Personal Systems Group, incorporating the concept of "purposeful evolution" to the design of ThinkPad.[4] David became head of PC design for IBM, including ThinkPad design in 1995.[4][9][16]

At IBM, Hill collaborated with Richard Sapper[17][18], John Karidis[19][20], Tom Hardy[4], Tomoyuki Takahashi[20][21][22][23][24] and Kazuhiko Yamazaki[20][25], the latter being an industrial designer at IBM Yamato. With Sapper he worked on the T560 Monitor,[26] NetVista X40/X41,[27][28][29] ThinkPad A30[30] and NetVista X41 Articulated Arm.[31] With Karidis he worked on several prototype computers and jointly hold several patents for computer design with Karidis, Sapper, Takahashi and Yamazaki.[32][33] These included laptop computers such as the ThinkPad 570 (Yamazaki, Takahashi, Sapper and Hill) and ThinkPad 240 (Yamazaki, Nariaki Mieki and Hill). [34]

In 2001, David's work on the NetVistia X40, ThinkPad 570 was showcased in the exhibit "Workspheres: design and contemporary work styles" at the Museum of Modern Art.[35][36]

Hill worked on several features like the ThinkLight that integrated an LED in the top of the display bezel to illumniate the keyboard on a laptop.[37] He was also responsible for the creation of the middle mouse button on ThinkPad computers that allowed for scrolling in horizontal and vertical directions. He also led the development of the TrackPoint caps that would replace the "cat tongue" and "eraser head" models known as the "golf tee" and "soft dome".[2] David was also in charge of the design of the i Series notebooks[4].

2005-2017: Lenovo

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When Lenovo acquired IBM's PC division in 2005, Hill became Lenovo's executive director for corporate identity and design[9][16] forming a design headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina[30]. Hill would also write entries for the "Design Matters" blog from 2005 to 2017. This was done to help build bridges between the design and engineering teams within the company.[9][38]

David lead the design of several products such as Project Kodachi in June 2006 which would become the ThinkPad X300[16][39], David originally wanted the X300 to feature a "butterfly" keyboard like the ThinkPad 701c, reffered to as "Bento-Fly" but it was ultimately dropped during development.[9][16] In 2008, he was named one of the 25 most influential people in mobile technoloy by Laptop Magazine.[40]

David would continue to collaborate with Richard Sapper on the ThinkPad X300,[30] Lenovo Skylight[41][42] and the design of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.[43]

In 2009, David became Chief Design Officer and Vice President of Experience Design until June 30, 2017.[5][44]

In 2015, he was part of the American management team celebrating the ThinkPad’s 100 million sales mark.[16] For the 20th anniversary of ThinkPad, David Hill created a book about ThinkPad design titled ThinkPad Design: Spirit & Essence for the exhibit that took place at the Museum of Modern Art in 2012.[45] David through the "Design Matters" blog would launch the idea of creating a "retro ThinkPad" which would be released as the 25th anniversary edition ThinkPad called the T25. The book he created for the 20th anniversary was updated and included with the T25. [46][47]

References

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  1. ^ Piltch, Avram (2025-08-02). "Long live the nub: ThinkPad designer David Hill spills secrets, designs that never made it". The Register.
  2. ^ a b "ThinkPad designer David Hill dishes on unreleased models". Archived from the original on 2025-08-02. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
  3. ^ McCracken, Harry (October 5, 2017). "How IBM's ThinkPad Became A Design Icon". Fast Company. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Dell, Deborah A.; Purdy, J. Gerry (2000). ThinkPad, a different shade of blue. Indianapolis: Sams. pp. 125, 175, 411, 413, 427, 457. ISBN 978-0-672-31756-9.
  5. ^ a b "Rewirement - Industrial Designers Society of America". www.idsa.org. 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
  6. ^ "Professional Advisory Board". University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  7. ^ "2018 Alumni Awards". University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  8. ^ Rolf, Daniel (September 27, 2018). "School of Architecture & Design announces 2018 Distinguished Alumni Awards". KU News. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Hamm, Steve (2008). The race for perfect: inside the quest to design the ultimate portable computer. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 96, 103, 121–126, 131, 134–136. ISBN 978-0-07-160611-0.
  10. ^ "IDSA South District Spotlight | National Industrial Design Day 2022 - Industrial Designers Society of America". www.idsa.org. 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
  11. ^ a b Simonds, John (2006-08-15). "David Hill – Chief Lenovo Designer, a Man Who has Created Much, and Touched Millions". Delusions of Adequacy. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  12. ^ USD300470S, Schmidt, Franklin T. & Hill, David W., "Hand held spotlight", issued 1989-03-28 
  13. ^ Behrens, L. E.; Hill, D. W.; Miller, I. W. (December 1989). "Icons for Local Area Network Connections". IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin. 32 (7): 224–225.
  14. ^ Gardiner, Bryan (August 16, 2010). "The Secret Histories of Those @#$%ing Computer Symbols". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  15. ^ "Out of the Blue". I. D. The International Design Magazine. April 1998. pp. 70–75.
  16. ^ a b c d e Naitoh, Arimasa (2017). How the ThinkPad Changed the World and Is Shaping the Future. William Holstein. New York: Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated. pp. 46, photo insert page, 124. ISBN 978-1-5107-2499-0.
  17. ^ USD607882S1, Nakada, Kazuo; Takahashi, Tomoyuki & Hill, David Wayne et al., "Portable computer", issued 2010-01-12 
  18. ^ USD469085S1, Hill, David Wayne; Leonard, Brian Hargrove & Sapper, Richard et al., "Integrated all-in-one computer", issued 2003-01-21 
  19. ^ US6229693B1, Karidis, John P. & Hill, David Wayne, "Articulated display for notebook computer", issued 2001-05-08 
  20. ^ a b c US6788530B2, Hill, David Wayne; Karidis, John Peter & Takahashi, Tomoyuki et al., "User friendly computer equipment, monitor unit, and monitor unit setting base", issued 2004-09-07 
  21. ^ USD607882S1, Nakada, Kazuo; Takahashi, Tomoyuki & Hill, David Wayne et al., "Portable computer", issued 2010-01-12 
  22. ^ US6394615B1, Hill, David Wayne; Sawin, David Andrew & Takahashi, Tomoyuki, "Device for enhancing the visibility of portable computer display screens by shielding direct and indirect light from the display screen and the eyes of the user", issued 2002-05-28 
  23. ^ US7057603B2, Hill, David Wayne; Mieki, Naraiki & Sawin, David Andrew et al., "Notebook computer force-controlled pointing stick device", issued 2006-06-06 
  24. ^ JP2013077082A, Takahashi, Tatsunosuke; 高橋, 辰之輔 & Takahashi, Tomoyuki et al., "情報処理装置", issued 2013-04-25 
  25. ^ US7057603B2, Hill, David Wayne; Mieki, Naraiki & Sawin, David Andrew et al., "Notebook computer force-controlled pointing stick device", issued 2006-06-06 
  26. ^ "T560". Richard Sapper. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  27. ^ "Netvista X41 PC". Richard Sapper. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  28. ^ Haller, Lynn (October 1, 2006), Cullen, Chervi Dangel (ed.), Design secrets: Products. 2: 50 real-life projects uncovered, Gloucester, Mass: Rockport Publishing, pp. 74–75, ISBN 978-1-59253-292-6
  29. ^ Domus. Vol. 845. Domus. February 2002. pp. 108–109.
  30. ^ a b c Olivares, Jonathan; Fazel, Ramak; Sapper, Richard, eds. (2016). Richard Sapper. London New York: Phaidon. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-0-7148-7120-2.
  31. ^ "Netvista X41 Articulated Arm". Richard Sapper. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  32. ^ "IBM DESIGNERS BRING ORIGAMI INTO THE FOLD". Orlando Sentinel. 2003-09-20. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  33. ^ "INNOVATION: Fall 2003, IDEA Yearbook - Industrial Designers Society of America". www.idsa.org. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  34. ^ Webb, Michael; Bartolucci, Marisa; Cabra, Raul (2002). Richard Sapper. Compact design portfolio. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. pp. 19, 20, 21. ISBN 978-0-8118-3282-3.
  35. ^ Antonelli, Paola; Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.), eds. (2001). Workspheres: design and contemporary work styles. New York, N.Y: Museum of Modern Art : distributed by Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-0-87070-013-2.
  36. ^ Akin, David (March 15, 2001). ""The old PC gets dolled up"". Financial Post. National Post.
  37. ^ Ranil, David (February 14, 2015). ""After 100 million sold, Lenovo's ThinkPad laptop still going strong"". The News & Observer. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  38. ^ Shah, Rawn (2010). Social networking for business: choosing the right tools and resources to fit your needs. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publ. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-13-235779-1.
  39. ^ Hamm, Steve; Hall, Kenji (February 25, 2008). Perfect: The Quest to Design the Ultimate Portable PC. Business Week. pp. 43–48.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  40. ^ "David Hill is the #19 Most Influential Person in Mobile Technology". www.laptopmag.com. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  41. ^ Hannaford, Kat (2010-01-15). "Sapper, Stradivarius and Skylight: Designing Lenovo's Smartbook". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  42. ^ USD617790S1, Sapper, Richard; Takahashi, Tomoyuki & Hill, David Wayne et al., "Portable computer", issued 2010-06-15 
  43. ^ "ThinkPad X1 Carbon". Richard Sapper. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  44. ^ "Rewiring". Lenovo Blog. Archived from the original on 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
  45. ^ Burns, Chris (2012-10-05). "Lenovo ThinkPad 20th Anniversary Celebrated With Tribute And Legacy Collection". SlashGear. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  46. ^ Churbuck, David (2017-11-15). "25 Years of ThinkPad". Churbuck.com. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
  47. ^ Sheridan, Kelly (June 27, 2015). "Retro ThinkPad Would Revive Original IBM Design | InformationWeek". www.informationweek.com. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
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