The role of beauty in our devices is not a greatly debated topic; we want it, simple as that. Sexism aside, I want my phone to be a hot, sexy bitch that fits inside my pocket. The question, then, is how do we get there? The tyranny of the iPhone’s irreproachable aesthetic has been amongst the hardest thing for manufacturers to overcome. As content now reigns supreme, it becomes futile to resist the efficiency of Apple’s damnable rectangle. How does the Mozilla Phone break from that aesthetic? How does it visually stand out and make its own statement about your content, the web, and you as a user?
Of the formal problems facing the Mozilla Phone, a revealing perspective is how the material choices reflect on functional elements. Consider this breakdown; if we separate the device into the three discrete elements of structure (metal case), substrate (glass touchscreen) and content (LCD), the object as a whole becomes directly relatable to other categories. Consider cars with a metal chassis, glass windows and interior comfort, or a fine watch’s metal band, sapphire crystal and watch face, or even a building’s steel superstructure, glass façade and interior living spaces. All employ a quasi-hierarchical relationship between structure, substrate and content, if loosely applied.
Of course, these are sweeping generalities, but they allow useful comparisons for thinking about the problem at hand. For example, if you messed with the typical relationship between structure and substrate like below, how would that translate to the phone?
Pompidou Centre, Rinspeed Exaxis, Rinspeed Zazen, and Corum Golden Bridge
How else could that paradigm be extended and reworked? How can we get away from the monotony of polished aluminum and tinted glass? I’m focusing on material choice and composition here, but what other avenues could we consider in creating a unique aesthetic? I pointed out watches and cars as possible form inspiration, but what other categories might give useful input to gadget design? How beholden are we to the efficiency of rectangular content? I would love to break out the overall shape, but I almost feel there’s something inherently unrealistic about that. I’m only beginning to discover the difficulty in designing a visually unique phone while maintaining functionality, so don’t expect this to be the last post on the topic.
Lets see some comments people.
February 10, 2009 at 5:05 pm
All of the examples above contain aspects of “transparency”, which I think is a strong theme to explore. Please, no more polished aluminum, it already looks stale, almost retro (think the chrome detailing on 50s cars).
The rectangle issue is tough, content being the lock, perhaps explore the ergonomics and try and be more comfortable in peoples hands (we all do a bit of one hand *juggling* with the iPhone @ times!)
Interesting post.
February 10, 2009 at 5:05 pm
The elements of texture are so terribly important & so often neglected for reasons of aesthetic. Always remember that the most important thing is how the material feels in ur hand.
Also remember ecological consciousness in materials, any nod to sustainability or recyclable materials (like compressed milk tops or some such) would be appreciated.
February 11, 2009 at 7:03 am
It would be nice to have something that wasnt another iphone clone. I hope for a keypad, this would make the phone thicker, so a rounded out device almost like a “pebble” maybe? It would feel nice to hold, but probably more difficult to design.
February 13, 2009 at 7:55 pm
My guess is that all mobile phone are about the same size; but my I/P is Software! If the OS doesn’t deliver, I don’t care about how pretty is the box.
The OS must be inter-functional to be classified as “smart”; this means that calendar, contacts, TODOs and memos MUST be interlinked and independent. When you are on the road, you must be able to jump between and among all applications (and to the calculator also).
THE SOLUTION: think about the phone as a small computer screen – if you can do it on the laptop, then same ob the smartphone.
NO WAIT – the smart mobile phone IS A SMALL PC (oh silly me)
//Cheers