Moving away from traditional routers with exposed antennas, this router has all its antennas enclosed in a a single pure form. Concealing the antennas from sight allows the router to blend nicely into many home environments. The router is designed with a narrow front and a deeper body to take up minimal footprint on a shelf and a table.

The v-shape folds in the middle separates the antennas and the PCB to optimize performance, which also results in a sleek and unique design language. The display and buttons are placed at an optimal viewing angle for the user.

The front-facing cool LED matrix forms different lighting patterns, adding more interest to this powerful and personalized router.

Advanced gamers seek top gear for an edge. Inspired by the supercar design, we evolved the TP-Link gaming router for the Wi-Fi 7 era. The RGB light emitting from the side grill gives this router a vibrant, game-like appearance, creating an immersive atmosphere that boosts gamers' confidence for their next encounter.

The edgy surface and sharp edges of this design expose its aggressive spirit, making it a powerful statement piece on any gamer's desk and defining the space. The fierce and bold inlet grills on the sides add a sense of battle to the design while also providing ventilation to maximize performance.

To kick off the design exploration, we let our creativity run wild. Our aim was to create a router that serves as a centerpiece, rather than something that's concealed and tucked away.

Since the antennas required a minimum separation of 100mm, the overall footprint of the router became too large. Therefore, in the next round of exploration, we opted for a longer and narrower design approach to minimize the footprint.

After discussion with TP-Link, we concluded that placing the narrow side of the router at the front would result in a smaller visual footprint and allow users to place it on a shelf without occupying too much space.

TP-Link requested that we incorporate an LED matrix on the front of the router to enable user personalization. In order to increase production yield rate, we opted to replace the front fabric with plastic. Subsequently, we conducted numerous rounds of exploration to determine the optimal shape, size, pattern, and pitch for the LED matrix.

The LED pattern is repeated on the top and bottom of the router as venting holes. Additionally, we made several refinements to various aspects of the router, such as the side textures, logo placement, display size and angle, ports, and more.

Building upon the design from phase 1, we explored ways to enhance the router's gaming appearance and appeal to gamers.

After months of hard work and refinement, we were thrilled to see the product go into production.