To Be The Leader, You Gotta Look Like The Leader
How a 45-year industry veteran transformed his expertise into a visually cohesive product line through intentional design strategy.
“To be the leader, you gotta look like the leader.”
– Tom Gornick, Founder of NXT Power
Power quality equipment starts with technical excellence, but the most thriving companies are the ones that go beyond. Industry leaders separate themselves from the pack by marrying cutting-edge technology and industrial design with intention as a strategic business decision. The story of NXT Power and its company growth perfectly illustrates the success of forward-thinking design principles in action.
When Experience Meets Innovation
Founded in 2020 by Tom Gornick, NXT Power entered the market with a unique advantage: Tom’s 40+ years of power quality equipment expertise and the wisdom of having previously built two successful companies. But this time, he had a new vision, one that involved a comprehensive and modern product ecosystem.
From the outset, Tom understood something that many technical founders overlook. He knew that visual coherence and design consistency would be the dealbreaker for his ambitious product line strategy.
“You need to think about the conceptual look first because it’s at the forefront,” says Tom, “I think it tells customers that our designs are always on the cutting edge and we value what our products look like.” Rather than treating industrial design as an afterthought, it became the cornerstone of NXT Power’s plan for New Product Development (NPD).
“You need to think about the conceptual look first because it’s at the forefront. I think it tells customers that our designs are always on the cutting edge.”
The Visual Brand Language Advantage
This is where the magic of Visual Brand Language (VBL) comes into play. Instead of designing each product in isolation, NXT Power partnered with Beyond Design to establish a comprehensive design system that would guide every future product decision.
Think of VBL as the DNA of a product family. It establishes the visual rules, material choices, form factors, and aesthetic principles, so that every new product feels like part of a complete collection. Even as the line expands and evolves, Tom put it best, “To be the leader, you gotta look like the leader.” So, finding a design studio partner was the first thing Tom did after securing investment for his new business.
Tom wanted a partner who would ask the right questions and guide the vision for NXT Power’s equipment. Beyond Design helped move the brand beyond the dated industrial look of legacy power products, creating a modern line built for today with the performance to match. The team developed the industrial design, VBL, and logo design for the rising startup; this way, the product line and any future developments would share a clear design language that communicates quality, innovation, and reliability.
Since incorporating Beyond Design’s VBL, NXT Power has launched a full range of products in record time. Thanks to a framework that provides direction and eliminates decision paralysis, NPD decisions are made easier and more cost-effective. Additionally, Tom and NXT Power receive numerous comments praising the well-connected appearance of their products.
The Proactive Design Philosophy
Tom says one of the biggest deciding factors for customers is how a product looks. “If the products do the same and cost similarly, they will buy the one that looks better.” That is why design details like the glowing blue accents and the sharp red logo are critical for NXT Power’s growth to industry leadership. Design enhances the visual appeal of the product line while also providing users with additional functionality, such as being able to indicate when the unit is powered on and operational, even at a glance. Users can tell from the look that it’s not a metal box like every other UPS device; it’s an NXT Power product.
What makes this approach so powerful is its proactive nature. Instead of facing design decisions from scratch with each new product, the engineering and marketing teams work within established guidelines that accelerate development and blend each new product into the existing brand. NXT Power saves time since NPD doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel each time. Instead, they can focus their energy on technical innovation and performance optimization.
Lessons for Technical Industries
The NXT Power story offers valuable insights for any company in technical industries:
- Design is a Business Strategy, Not Just Aesthetics – Tom recognized that visual coherence would be essential to building a product line that customers could immediately recognize and trust.
- Invest Early in Design Systems – The upfront investment in VBL has enabled rapid product development that would be impossible with ad-hoc design decisions.
- Experience Plus Design Equals Market Differentiation – Tom’s decades of industry knowledge, combined with an intentional design strategy, created a unique market position.
- Think Product Ecosystem, Not Individual Products – By planning for a product line from day one, NXT Power built scalable design systems that support ongoing innovation.
The Future of Technical Product Design
As technical industries become increasingly competitive, only companies that understand how to utilize industrial design as a strategic differentiator will emerge as leaders. NXT Power’s rapid product development success demonstrates how businesses can grow and develop at unprecedented speeds with systematic design thinking and engineering innovation. When the two work in harmony, it feels like Rome really can be built in a day.
If you’re ready to accelerate your own product development through strategic design, reach out to Beyond Design to develop faster, more cohesive products that make an impact on users.
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