The key objective of this project’s design brief initially began with the main goal being to lower the production costs relative to the current line of staplers within the Swingline portfolio of stapling products. Competitive market forces were driving prices downward and Swingline needed to both create unique new features as well as find clever ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. The necessary financial constraints pushed the PlusD2 development team towards finding solutions that would include reduction of the part count. This approach and subsequent thinking resulted in the development of a monocoque chassis, eliminating several additional non-functional plastic cover components from previous generations. The team then highlighted the interior mechanical structure making it visibly part of the overall design, offering a more progressive aesthetic than was widely recognizable in the stapler landscape of that time.

The patented low-force system development was the implementation of a multi-axle pivot mechanism conceptualized by the PlusD2 team early in the development process. The team was then able to pursue this forward-thinking concept and implement multiple axels within the compact system to reduce the overall force required to activate the staple hammer by 30%; working concurrently with the ACCO internal engineering team and their overseas suppliers to generate the final documentation for production. The success of the low-force system and new visual ergonomic aesthetic afforded the project recognition within the category, both through success in the marketplace and international design awards.