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| An Internal Comms initiative for Nokia design |
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| How does a behemoth of the mobile phone category address the fickle and mercurial nature of the average mobile consumer? Especially when their designs fail to meet the toughest criteria of all...being "cool". This was the challenge facing Nokia's new head of design Alastair Curtis in early 2006. Not only were Nokia's phone just not cool, internal teams were becoming increasingly demotivated as competitors like Motorola RAZR, LG Chocolate and Samsung seemed to be gaining cool credentials with each and every new product launch. |
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| Commonsense suggested that consumers would change their view on Nokia design only when they had a cool Nokia phone in their hands. Without that tangible "proof point" communicating to them was quickly seen as a pointless exercise. However, re-energizing and inspiring the internal Nokia design team was absolutely critical. This group would be the architects of the next Nokia design revolution. Beginning with a gruelling series of interviews we set out to define the essence of Nokia's design ethos and to uncover the elusive brand attributes that had made Nokia such a force in mobile phones. The interviewees were a veritable who's who of the Nokia design teams across Europe and, not surprisingly, a very vocal and insightful group. |
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| From our internal work sessions and interviews, the idea of a Nokia design Manifesto quickly evolved. A succinct document to synthesize Nokia's design history and to draw inspiration for the path ahead. A Manifesto could also be easily distributed across Nokia's global network of design and R&D facilities. Finally it would provide great fodder for Nokia's recruitment drives as well. |
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| At the time of writing, the Manifesto had found its way across Nokia's design teams. Excerpts had been transformed into other collateral like workplace posters to extend the reach of the Manifesto. plans were also underway to include it in a new employee recruitment drive. In the market, Nokia appears to have turned a design corner with the release of coveted models like the n95. Obviously, one communication initiative could not be entirely responsible for the transformation but the Manifesto does highlight Nokia's commitment to moulding and articulating their vision for the mobile category. |
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