Last month we previewed the imminent arrival of Aalto University’s Nokia Design Archive. Today the site opens to the public, with 700 curated entries and 20,000 items in a repository you can browse through via an interface that links the various strands of company history, conceptual design and presentations together.
‘What we had at the time were phones with black and white screens that could take calls and send a text message. At the time, we were asking: could the mobile phone be something more? What are our wildest dreams for what a phone could do?,’ remembers Professor Anna Valtonen, lead researcher on the Design Archive and a former designer at Nokia.
We’ve sifted through a few of our favourites from the dawn of the mobile multimedia age.
Nokia 252 in different colours, 1999
Hand drawn sketches, Blitz workshop, 1998
HumanForm Concept displays, date unknown
Nokia Monolith: 'Black handmade model of a communicator with stickers representing keyboard and UI design on the screen'
Handmade concept model, 1999
Responder phone sketch, 1994-1995
Nokia L'Amour Collection Launch, 2005
The powerhouse Nokia N95, 2007
The Nokia Design Archive can be found at Aalto.fi
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Premium pocketable audio scales up with the new SP4000 from Astell&KernThe Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000 is a serious piece of audiophile equipment, a high-res portable player that offers endless ways to shape your listening experience
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The ultimate amenity in this Canadian apartment building? A trio of scene-stealing restaurantsPart of Citizen on Jasper, a new residential tower, Va!, Olia, and Mimi offer a thrilling day-to-night dining experience
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These sculptural mirrors embody the relaxed spirit of the MedPhotographed in a Mallorcan residence designed by local studio Munarq, these new sculptural mirrors by New York furniture company Ready To Hang are inspired by the sea
