Cisco Voice Over IP Phone | Role: Interaction Design, Interaction Design Direction

The Cisco Telecaster 7960 VOIP (voice over internet protocol) phone was the first major customer-facing product Cisco shipped. The Telecaster series brought Cisco “out of the closet” onto users’ desks, enhancing consumer awareness of Cisco’s offerings. As one of the first generation of VOIP phones, the Cisco 7960 was an unrivaled success.

Shaping A New Form for Communication

The VOIP phone series proved to be reliable, ergonomic, and intuitive. The design was also scaleable, supporting future features and applications. One of the company’s most successful launches, the iconic Cisco 7960 series proved to have a stage presence. Favored by Hollywood, it has become an iconic reference to connected VOIP services. It has been featured in the television show The Office and Billions and films, including The Bourne Supremacy, Transformers, and Iron Man.

Flexible Menus and Intuitive Line Management

Multiple VOIP lines were managed through the intuitive line management zone on the display and corresponding physical keys. Context-sensitive soft keys and their associated actions were presented to users along the lower portion of the display. A recent calls directory, which users were becoming familiar with on mobile phones, helped ease onboarding.

Main Mode Access

Primary modes of use, including messages, directories, services, settings, and context-sensitive information, could all be accessed by a physical mode key cluster. Other controls were also available, such as volume or speaker and mute buttons. A bright red message light was light-piped through the handset, informing users of pending messages.