In the late 90s and 2000s Nokia was the best-selling phone brand with over 40 percent market share. That dominance however faded away as Samsung, Apple, and other aggressive Chinese OEMs took away the market share. The Finnish brand has made steady strides after being acquired by HMD Global, focusing on value, durability, and software experience.
To remember the glory years of Nokia, Helsinki-based Aalto University (a renowned research school) has launched the Nokia Design Archive to maintain a repository of 20,000 items from the brand during the period of the mid-90s to 2017. This includes secret Nokia concepts and materials maintained in a digital format. Users will also be able to get access to the ideation, sketches, and designer interviews starting January 15 next year.
Designer: Nokia/Aalto University
According to Kaisu Savola, Aalto University post-doctoral researcher, “Technology doesn’t just shape us; we shape technology. When we started the project, the focus was on objects. As we began going through the material, we soon realized that it was about people.” The highlight of the archive will be the Nokia 3310 brick phone, the Nokia 8810 banana phone used by Keanu Reaves in The 1999 The Matrix movie, and the Nokia 7280 lipstick phone that was a bold choice for millennials.
The motive of this research initially was on objects but transitioning through the material made the team realize it was more about people. During the first phase, the online portal will have a fraction of the stories, images, prototypes licensed by Microsoft Mobile, and later on more Nokia stories will be added. The digital files will amount to 959GB of valuable repository that’ll take loyal fans back in time.
We at Yanko Design just can’t wait to go through the preserved material of the Nokia N83, more commonly known as the multimedia computer of the Symbian Series 60. Similarly, the Nokia 3210 released in 1999 ushered in an era of phone customization and had an interesting piece of history associated with it. Another unforgettable piece of Nokia’s legacy is the factory ringtone. the 1902 Gran Vals by Francisco Tárrega that was heard approximately 1.8 bn times a day around the globe. Also, the sneak peek at the wildest concept ideas like virtual reality glasses from the Finnish brand’s glory years is going to be a nostalgic ride down memory lane!