As Head of Design, Nokia Gear my responsibility was to lead the 12-strong creative team and drive the design of all Nokia branded accessories. The unit was undergoing a big strategic and organisational change at the time. We managed to liaise with the business and rationalize the portfolio while also building a powerful design identity for the accessories. The portfolio was vast; here are a few samples on key projects.
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MusicNokia saw the music as an emerging growth are for mobile consumers. The products we had earlier were arguably high-tech but relatively unattractive. We set out to give the speakers a premium, yet youthful identity.
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Bluetooth headsetsBluetooth headsets were a big part of the Nokia Gear business. Trouble was, they were lost within a massive, 8-tier portfolio which nobody seemed able to decipher. Together with the product planners, we simplified the portfolio, created strong design cues and managed to create some very attractive and successful products.
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InboxNokia was at the time cranking out 100's of millions of phones every year, and for almost each new model, re-designing the giveaway headset. We created a universal inbox headset design with superior audio quality and unique looks. Driving this change was also a huge diplomatic task.
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CMF StrategyWe had massive range of colours in the Nokia accessories which did nothing to build a coherent visual identity nor quality. We built a complete CMD strategy renewal for the accessories, and despite tough political battles, drove it through to create products that the customers could recognize and be proud owners for.
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(All images courtesy of Nokia / Nokia Gear Design Team)