Digital video cameras and computers that support real-time editing are now so affordable that even the most professional editors are turning to low-cost equipment. Avid Technology wanted to create an affordable editing device that would give greater portability and higher-quality output than anything currently available—and they wanted to get it to the rapidly changing technology market fast. They put IDEO to work on the project, and the result is the Avid Mojo, a high-performance product whose sales have tripled all forecasts and have helped contribute to the highest net revenue in Avid's history.

Mojo is the first and only solution that provides real-time output of multiple streams of digital video, with effects, on laptop computers. The device, which works with both analog and digital data, simultaneously connects the display to a television monitor, ensuring editors that their efforts look right on broadcast-quality screens. The unit eliminates delays between the image and sound that are typical of even very expensive systems, while programs are recording to tape, and gives lower-quality draft video a finished-quality appearance. With Avid Mojo, editors can now work more accurately and flexibly than ever before.

The compact unit hooks up easily to either Apple or PC computers with a single FireWire cable. Portable, lightweight, and durable, the Mojo fits snugly into laptop bags and briefcases and is designed to survive in equipment boxes and car trunks. Its smooth, metallic look nicely complements laptop and other peripherals that video editors use. Avid Mojo thus is not only the most cutting-edge solution on the market, it also sports the requisite air of "cool" that video editors seek. Leading industry publications have praised the product, thereby contributing to its skyrocketing sales.