Location Matters

Nokia — Japan

Direction ∖ Design Thinking ∖ Motion ∖ Print

This project came before GPS was an available feature in Nokia phones. The base question was: what is possible when a handset is location aware?

As we were starting with a blank slate, one initiative I lead was to generate rich experience-based input by creating a probe kit containing a set of tasks with tools to complete them. This was sent out to selected participants across the globe, both design colleagues as well as consumers.

After analyzing probe kits, field research, and a two-day design workshop held in Tokyo, our core team together came up with concepts dealing with location and places for mobile devices.

I then lead turning them into stories visualized working with an illustrator, then animated in collaboration with a couple freelances into simple explainer videos. Seen here are three that were cleared to be shown in public.

The final distributable became a 256 page tome I edited and designed enabling a prolonged experience with the depth of our discovery, for a long-lasting influence on those developing corporate strategy. It was nice to discover, even years after, it was still being distributed and utilized at Nokia Here.

As a foundation for Nokia’s early location services program, as well as dealing mainly with the urban environment, the book as an object alludes to concrete. To reflect the process (and save cost), the first part accounting research investigations is printed in black and white, with the resulting vision presented after in full color.