MNT Reform | Ana Dantas Design

MNT REFORM

A laptop that survived

a global pandemic

Mission/Challenge

Lukas Hartman had a vision: to design a truly modular open-source laptop to empower the user, allowing them to repair, upgrade and adapt their laptops for their own use cases.

Outcome

I designed the laptop from the initial concepts, prototyping, testing it with the user until the final version for manufacturing. We had built over 4 full working versions of the laptop, tested and validated the product with the end-user, creating a truly desired product.

Results/Impact

We launched the crowdfunding campaign in the middle of a global pandemic (05.2020). Even though this seemed like a tough scenario, we managed to fund our project in only 5 days, because offered a product that was truly desired by the user group, they were anxiously waiting for the launching. We closed the campaign raising over 260 000 EUR and selling 200 laptops.

Initial concepts

Lukas wanted to base the design of the Reform on the Computer from the ‘80s. They used to have open schematics inviting the user to hack and repair the devices.

Style Guide

In order to reach that goal of his, I sketched the first concepts based on those computers, going in the opposite direction of a minimalist style as a MacBook.

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MOODBOARD

Computers from the '80s had a lot of character and invited to experiment and take apart

What happens if the product doesn't solve a user's need?

Before we invested any time, money, and effort into developing the hardware, we interviewed our users and validated the desirability of our product through a mockup of an Amazon page.

With innovative ideas come big risks. You can avoid them by testing your assumptions.

Together with Lukas I've designed the first prototypes to test if the idea was viable and feasible. We used a wide range of rapid-prototyping techniques and electronic components that were available at the market to put the first working prototype together.

How to avoid frustrations?

The goal of the second prototype was to test the usability of the hardware.

In our second user interview, we gave the user simple tasks, in order to identify the main frustrations in the interaction with the device.

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final images 2nd prototype_Prancheta 1

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Selling 10 units to Beta Testers

After adjusting our product to fit the user needs, we sold, produced, and shipped 10 laptop units for testers.

By doing that, we've gained deeper user feedback and validated the desirability of our product.

The co-creation with Lukas and the constant interaction with the end-user were the key factors for the success of our product!

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We offered a product that was truly desired by our customers, raising over € 250 000 in the middle of a global pandemic!

WHO

Lukas Hartmann

CEO of MNT Research Hardware/Software Engineer of MNT Reform

Greta Melnik

Head of Quality at MNT Research

Ana Dantas

Industrial Designer of MNT Reform

Paul Klingberg

Renders and 3D CGI Sequence