Premium widescreen
In 2016, GRO worked with LG to develop designs for an ultra-wide and ultra-high-resolution computer monitor aimed at the premium professional segment.
Professional monitors are primarily purchased for the quality of on-screen image they offer. With this design we wanted to minimise the physical presence of the hardware to allow the very high-resolution content to appear to float magically in space.
Razor thin
The job of creating this premium monitor was made much easier designing around LG’s proposed 5k, 32”, 21:9 format display. Its four-sided borderless edge and 3.5mm-thick OLED screen led us to a ‘less is more’ approach, where the content would be the real hero. We envisaged an entirely polished, thin, metal construction that would both provide sufficient strength and also reflect the surrounding environment.
Discreetly managed
To keep the screen part as simple, flat and thin as possible, we moved the connectors and on-board speakers to a tilted aluminium base, avoiding disturbing bulges and untidy trailing cables at the back. We also proposed to place the brand as a subtle signature on the corner of the foot to avoid disrupting the almost borderless screen.
Flexible use
Increasingly, people at work are moving away from big box PCs under their desks to using laptops with large, high-resolution monitors.
When researching monitors, we were surprised to discover that none could be adjusted high enough to allow a laptop to be used with the screen open underneath. This often led to users putting the laptop to one side and using an additional keyboard and mouse.
The thin and wide letterbox proportions of this display were ideal for incorporating additional height adjustment, making it possible to use the laptop screen and its keyboard with the monitor. This extra height also enabled the extra-wide display to be rotated vertically for long ‘thread’ applications and poster-like display content.
