Design in the essence of a product. It is the external design of a product which initially appeals to a person and gives the first impression.
This external design along with the software design is what makes for an effective user experience. Recently we had a chance to meet the digital design team where we learnt how the team works on improving user experiences by working on gestures which are universally acceptable.
Some time back we had the chance to have a tete-a-tete with Jonne Harju , where we learnt a lot about Nokia’s future plans with its flagship devices.
“We have no intention to use gimmicks , our design is based on usability. “
” Unique plastics which give different feeling will play important role ”
An interesting detail that we learn was that Nokia has two design teams running simultaneously and that work is already underway on the 2011 flagship device ! In fact , the N97 was conceived way back in 2007-2008.
When quizzed about what plans Nokia has with trying out new and interesting form factors like they did with the N93 , Jonne replied firmly that Nokia was committed to making devices which the customers enjoyed but didnt want to shift to gimmicks. He also let us know that his team was working on incorporating unique materials and exotic plastics which would imbibe unique properties like scratch resistance and provide an oleophobic screen.
The major part of the interaction was however focussed on the direction Nokia has taken with the N97 mini. The mini , according to Jonne , was created for a very specific purpose. It is meant for tech savvy people who also require to make a fashion statement. The screen was made smaller so that overall dimensions could be reduced and to make it fit better in the hand.
For all those wondering , yes GPS has been fixed at the design level , the tilt angle of the screen has also been modified to enable better screen viewing.
We also inquired whether having a camera without a lens cover was a design decision at which Jonne said that it had predominantly been made so to keep the device slimmer.
This is just a small glimpse of our conversation with Jonne. It was such a stimulating experience that we have recorded the entire conversation for you ! We hope you enjoy listening to our interaction with Jonne Harju and we will try to bring more such interesting tid-bits straight from the team in the future.
Before ending this post , i’d like to thank Nokia for giving us the opportunity to have such an amazing experience. We hope that such events are held from time to time as it gives us to get a peek into the design philosophies behind the devices we use daily.
Get The AUDIO HERE