In the early years of the mobile phones, Nokia was at the top of the industry and was known worldwide for phones that were designed with durability and functionality in mind. Today, HMD Global, the company who owns the Nokia brand, is following a design philosophy that harkens back to its early days and is using it in its effort to put Nokia in contention in a smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung.
Ahead of the launch of the anticipated flagship phone, Nokia 8, Alasdair Mcphail and Raun Forsyth, design directors at HMD Global, shared their creative process and secrets to a good design.
Mcphail said they used their intimate understanding of Nokia's brand heritage in creating their vision. "The goal was to deliver fantastically durable and smart devices that are at the same time so beautiful you fall in love with them," Mcphail told Forbes.
He added that Nokia smartphones "will not blind you, but they will keep delighting you as you use them until you end up in love" with them. He also noted that it is a "gradual and undemanding process."
A crucial part of Nokia's good design is the collaboration between the design and engineering aspects. Unlike other organizations, Nokia's design and engineering departments work together closely to create intricate interiors, work well with the external configuration of the phone.
One secret that the directors shared comes from Nokia's Scandinavian roots. Forsyth names "Scandinavian simplicity and purity as opposed to complexity" as one of the driving forces in Nokia's designs. He says taking away features that are not essential from a device will naturally make the essential ones better, as more attention will be given to creating them.
With the release of the Nokia 8, it's only a matter of time before users will see if the company's dedication to Nokia's time-tested philosophies will enable it to forge its own place in today's smartphone market.
