Wave wins Good Design Award
we just designed The world’s fastest AI system
We are proud to announce that we just received a GOOD DESIGN award for the Wave AI System we designed for Wave Computing – a leading Artificial Intelligence company based in Silicon Valley. The Wave AI System is considered one of the fastest (if not THE fastest) machine learning computer in the world. The product design was part of a comprehensive rebranding initiative managed by Solid Branding that also included brand identity and website design. To deliver the award-winning industrial design, Alfredo Muccino of Solid Branding worked collaboratively with Scot Herbst, our Strategic Partner / Director of Product Design and his talented team of designers.
ABOUT THE GOOD DESIGN AWARD
One of the world’s most prestigious programs for design excellence
Started in 1950 by architects Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., the annual GOOD DESIGN awards program recognizes the very best design at a global level. The competition reviews entries based on design and innovation, sustainability, branding, ecologically responsible design, human factors, technology and more. This year, the competition received a record number of submissions representing the most important and critical mass of influential corporations from over 47 countries. The 68th GOOD DESIGN jury met in Los Angeles and New York and selected over 900 product designs and graphics deemed worthy of the GOOD DESIGN Award for Design Excellence.
SHOWCASING neural networking
Exposing the beauty of dataflow technology though visual displays
The WAVE AI System is an extremely powerful computer pioneering a unique patented processing architecture called a Data Processing Unit (DPU) that is 4000x faster than a top of the line computer. Typical machine learning data processors are basic sheet metal boxes that get hidden in a data closet or backroom. We believed that this system deserved to become an object of beauty so, we set out to create a design experience that wouldn’t get stuffed in a data closet or backroom. The visual experience expresses and celebrates the magic and beauty of data. The WAVE AI System is the first computer that shows the fluid movement of the machine learning inside – a process called neural networking – shown in vivid animations on a 9” display…as though you can view the kinetic brain of this beautiful process unfold before your eyes.
INSPIRED BY FLUIDITY AND PRECISION
When form meets function they become beautiful together
The product design is inspired by the mathematical precision and art-meets-science philosophy of artificial intelligence. The physical form of the product recalls the simplicity and elegant minimalism of modern architecture. The 4 DPUs (Data Processors) aren’t hidden inside, rather they’re black boxes stacked vertically on the front for a striking, easily accessible format enabling serviceability and open access. The layout, architecture and surface treatments are all specifically designed to keep the machine running as fast and efficiently as possible, with cooling features and liquid flow that become visible elements of the system. Additionally, the details start to establish a unique design language based on a waveform – a tribute to the company’s name as well as a nod to the fluidity of the technology.
A comprehensive rebrand
Solid completely revamped the Wave brand
Wave Computing is revolutionizing AI and deep learning with its AI-native dataflow-based systems and embedded solutions. The company is dedicated to enabling data scientists to experiment, develop, test, deploy and run AI applications faster than ever before. Due to their recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence technology, the company is experiencing meteoric growth. We were asked to rebrand the company so that the brand would be better aligned with the business focus. We designed a new logo and brand identity language, crafted a new design for their core product, and developed a new website. The new Wave brand language celebrates data scientists as the heroes of a brave new world through heroic portraiture combined with stunning visualizations of complex data analytics patterns.
