Nokia 8800 mobile phone

red dot: best of the best
red dot award: product design 2006

Harmonious - form and balance
A mobile phone reveals a lot about its owner. People choose a model according to their personal lifestyle and taste, the ring tone is a favourite piece of music and here people store their most personal data such as addresses and photos. The design of the Nokia 8800 is well thought-out and clear, and for its owner it is an expression of a self-assured individuality. The phone presents itself as a statement of purism, accentuating a harmonious balance and sublime sensuousness, which follows the maxims of Zen. Its language of form was developed from the challenge to create a new housing shape for innovative technologies; a housing that would nevertheless maintain Nokia's recognisable and familiar look. Softly rounded forms made of stainless steel give the impression of flowing surfaces with a tension of natural appearance. The design of this mobile phone seeks to attain its balance in a clear arrangement of detail and function and, thus, was inspired by watch and jewellery making. Due to borrowings from these fields, the Nokia 8800 now resembles an accessory with a feel of exclusiveness. An important design element is its precisely engineered slider mechanism for opening and closing the phone. It implies sophisticated functionality yet with a high degree of understatement. Attention to detail is evident even in the design of the sound quality, and in this regard too, the aspect of harmony is underlined: The Nokia 8800 has its own characteristic sound, by which one can recognise it. The "soundtrack" was composed by the Japanese musician and electronic music aesthete, Ryuichi Sakamoto, who found inspiration for his composition in the language of form and the organically rounded curves of this mobile phone.